WHO lauds Bangladesh’s pluralistic health system

Bangladesh’s “pluralistic” health system has drawn the attention of World Health Organisation’s director general.

Dr Margaret Chan, at a ministerial conference on universal health coverage in Singapore, on Tuesday said Bangladesh had been “successful” in making its health system “pluralistic”.

By pluralistic she meant combined efforts of both government and NGOs, the foreign ministry says.

Due to combined efforts, she believed Bangladesh had been able to achieve successes in family planning, immunisation, oral rehydration therapy, vitamin-A supplementations, despite resource constraints.

Bangladesh’s Health Minister Mohammed Nasim joined the two-day conference that Singapore is hosting ahead of the adoption of post-2015 development goals.

Universal health coverage that ensures access to health without financial risk is being seen one of the ways of preventing people from poverty.

Health ministers and high officials from more than 15 selected countries including Brunei, Finland, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea are attending the conference.

The WHO director general quoted The Lancet medical journal that cited Bangladesh’s health success “striking” and said the system had been able to address the first generation of poverty linked infections, nutritional and maternity related diseases.

Health Minister Nasim thanked the WHO chief for highlighting Bangladesh’s successes in the international forum.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong opened the conference.