Public health experts on Saturday urged that government to increased allocation in health sector in the upcoming national budget for the financial year 2024-24 as deaths surged alarmingly in non-communicable diseases in Bangladesh.

At a webinar titled ‘Budgetary Allocation to Combat NCDs: Bangladesh Perspective’ experts mentioned that the budgetary allocation to combat NCDs remained significantly inadequate.

Research organization PROGGA with the support from the Global Health Advocacy Incubator organized the webinar on the occasion of World Health Day.

Experts said that NCDs, such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, kidney diseases, and respiratory diseases, are responsible for 70 per cent of total deaths in Bangladesh.

They identified a number of risk factors, including unhealthy eating habits, excess sodium or salt intake, tobacco use, lack of physical labor and air pollution behind the spike in the prevalence of NCDs.

Speakers also said that despite the World Health Organization’s recommendation for countries to allocate at least 15 per cent of their total budget for the health sector, Bangladesh allocated only 5 per cent of its total budget to healthcare in the fiscal year 2023-24.

Experts mentioned that health budgetary support in Bangladesh was one of the lowest in the WHO South-East Asia region.

Sohel Reza Choudhury, head of the Department of Epidemiology and Research of National Heart Foundation, said that the prevalence of non-communicable diseases could be controlled by reducing the risk of hypertension alone.

Muhammad Ruhul Quddus, Bangladesh Country Lead of GHAI, said that sustainable funding for health sector should be ensured to safeguard public health.

The webinar was chaired by PROGGA’s executive director ABM Zubair while Bangladesh Food Safety Authority director Laila Akhter, was also present as discussant. The keynote presentation was delivered by PROGGA’s coordinator Sadia Galiba Prova.