Bangladesh, which separated from Pakistan in 1971, outperforms its predecessor in universal health coverage indices, according to Bangladesh Live News (BLN).
Universal health coverage (UHC) is a worldwide health priority and one of the Sustainable Development Goals’ primary aims (SDGs).
In a recent Dawn story, Professor Zafar Mirza of Shifa Tameer-i-Millat University, Islamabad, and WHO consultant on Universal Health Coverage made some disturbing findings about Pakistan’s healthcare situation.
For example, in terms of neonatal mortality rate (NMR), Pakistan ranks second in the world, with 40 babies dying during the first 28 days of life for every 1,000 live births.
Compare this number to Bangladesh, where the under-5 child death rate has progressively decreased over the previous two decades. It is now at 30 fatalities per 1,000 live births, and it should be emphasized that these deaths accounted for 67% of all under-5-year-old child mortality, according to BLN.
In Pakistan, over 42% of women aged 15-49 years, i.e. women of reproductive age, have moderate iron deficiency, often known as anaemia, which is a primary cause of underweight infants delivered to these mothers and a risk factor for maternal death owing to post-partum hemorrhage.
Meanwhile, in Bangladesh, since 2007, a government-led Maternal Health Voucher plan has targeted disadvantaged women with the goal of improving access to and use of maternal health care by lowering financial barriers through the provision of incentives, according to BLN.
The program gives qualified women a voucher for three prenatal check-ups and safe delivery care in a health institution or at home with a professional birth attendant.
Maternal mortality has decreased due to a variety of variables, including greater access and utilization of health care facilities, advancements in female education, and per capita income.
Children aged 6-59 months in Bangladesh receive vitamin A pills every six months on National Immunization Days (NIDs) and vitamin A programs twice a year.
Despite billions of dollars spent on eradication efforts, Pakistan is one of only two nations in the world where Poliomyelitis (polio) is still common. Bangladesh was proclaimed polio-free by the WHO Regional Certification Committee over a decade ago, according to BLN.
Bangladesh is further advanced in terms of other aspects of healthcare. According to Prof Mirza, with an estimated 10 million people living with hepatitis C, Pakistan currently has the world’s highest population of patients infected by the virus, exceeding even China, despite the fact that treatments are inexpensive and have a cure rate of 97-98 percent.
Furthermore, BEXIMCO Pharma of Bangladesh has developed the generic version of the wonder medicine Sofosbuvir for the treatment of hepatitis C under the brand name Sofovir C.
In the developed market, the drug costs USD $1,000 per tablet, making it one of the most costly drugs in the world. However, a tablet costs Tk 600 in Bangladesh, and the overall cost of the medication is Tk 50,400 for a 12-week course, compared to Tk 67 lakh in wealthy nations, according to BLN.
In 2019, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Thailand became the first countries in WHO’s South-East Asia Region to achieve Hepatitis B control, with the disease’s incidence among five-year-old children falling to less than 1%.
Over the previous decade, remarkable progress has put Bangladesh on track to meet MDG-4 for child survival and a 40% decrease in maternal death.
Bangladesh’s health finance plan (2012-2032) outlines the government’s goal of expanding social protection for health and progressing toward UHC through the implementation of a Social Health Protection Scheme, its monitoring and assessment, and a results-based financing program.