Bengal Delta Conference 2026 Towards Healthy Bangladesh 2041: Preparing for Ageing, Infectious Diseases, And Stronger Primary Care

 

Question: From a health systems perspective, what are the biggest gaps Bangladesh must close to manage ageing, NCDs, infectious diseases, and universal health coverage together?

Response: Bangladesh is currently undergoing both demographic and epidemiological transition, posing substantial challenges to the health systems. These challenges arise from an ageing population and its health needs, noncommunicable diseases, emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, and moving towards UHC while managing these two transitions. He referred to four system gaps which needs to be addressed on an emergency basis: healthcare financing crisis (the OOPexp. is over 70% and the investment in health is less than1% of GDP), integrated service delivery at PHC levels to serve both communicable and noncommunicable diseases, recruitment, training and deployment of health workforce of all categories, and leveraging digital platforms to improve access and reduce corruption. He emphasised that building trust in primary health care requires every community clinic to be reliably staffed, stocked, and connected digitally, supported by a transparent national accreditation system.

 

Question: What role can the private sector and pharmaceutical industry play in strengthening primary care access, especially in underserved areas?

Response: The private sector and pharmaceutical industry can be powerful allies in strengthening primary care access in Bangladesh, especially in underserved rural and peri-urban areas. Private sector and pharmaceutical industry can strengthen primary care access and quality in underserved areas through:

Bangladesh’s measles outbreak lays bare governance failures

 Bangladesh is experiencing its worst measles outbreak since 2005, driven by declining vaccine coverage, supply chain failures, political disruption and industrial action. A nationwide emergency vaccination campaign launched in April 2026 has reached nearly 18 million children and helped stabilise case numbers. But unless the underlying governance failures, vaccine hesitancy and urban outreach gaps are addressed, the country risks repeated outbreaks in the future.

visit: https://eastasiaforum.org/2026/05/27/bangladeshs-measles-outbreak-lays-bare-governance-failures/

Studying Antimicrobial Resistance in urban informal settlements through Community-based participatory research (CBPR)

 

Most AMR research has focused mainly on formal healthcare, overlooking the role of the environment. Yet, as cities expand, informal settlements grow, often facing environmental injustices (defined as an inequitable distribution of harms in the human and natural environment) that can worsen AMR. These urban informal settlements (slums) are described as ‘hotspots’ for antimicrobial resistance which is stigmatising. Rather, the marginalised communities face a higher risk of exposure to, and burden of, antimicrobial resistant microbes due to insecure tenure and land rights, poor access to affordable quality healthcare, a lack of formal governance and high exposure to waste, pollution and extreme weather events.

 Our research asks: can informal urban settlements become sites of positive change for AMR? Using community-based, participatory, and arts-driven approaches, we will challenge conventional strategies and explore new pathways across Bangladesh, Kenya, and Nepal. This study brings together diverse disciplines to co-create knowledge on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) within urban informal settlements. It moves beyond the usual framing of formal health systems as “solutions” and informal environments as “problems.”

Primary Health Care (PHC) System Capacity In Bangladesh

 

Primary Health Care is recognized as the foundation of a resilient health system, yet Bangladesh’ PHC continues to face challenges including fragmented service delivery, weak referral systems, underfunded budgets, and shortages of trained health workers. A study was conducted to provide a comprehensive overview of Bangladesh’s Primary Health Care (PHC) system, as part of a regional evidence-gathering initiative of the WHO’s Asia Pacific Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (APO). Besides PHC system capacity, the study also aimed to identify gaps and opportunities, and inform future regional and sub-regional policy and practice. 

The study employed a mixed-methods approach, combining a rapid review of national policies, strategies, guidelines, program reports, and peer-reviewed literature with semi-structured interviews of national experts, government officials, and PHC implementers. Data were triangulated across sources using a standardized domain framework, and ethical approval was obtained from BRAC University’s Institutional Review Board.

Findings reveal that governance of PHC in Bangladesh is anchored in the National Health Policy (2011) and operationalized through the Essential Service Package (ESP, 2016). However, governance remains fragmented across sector programs, with limited integration of pandemic preparedness and climate resilience. Referral coordination is inconsistent, and quality assurance mechanisms, though supported by national policies, are unevenly enforced, particularly in the private sector.