Hasina pitches for predictable financing for health security initiatives

Predictable financing is an “urgent need” for the health security initiatives in the developing nations and least developed countries or LDCs, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said.

Reazul Basharfrom Munichbdnews24.com
Published : 15 Feb 2019, 03:04 PM
Updated : 15 Feb 2019, 03:04 PM

Speaking at a roundtable, ‘Health in Crises – WHO Cares’, in Munich on Friday morning, she urged the World Health Organization to lead the initiatives.

The emergence of contagious diseases like Ebola, cholera and tuberculosis globally reveal that the existing health system needs to be upgraded and transformed, she told the roundtable.

“Often WHO had been caught wrong footed due to the enormity of the crisis, dearth of resources and its capacity," the prime minister said. "So, predictable financing for the health security initiatives in the developing countries and LDCs is an urgent need."

“I would like to commend the WHO activities in emergency areas like for displaced Myanmar nationals in Bangladesh and for managing emergency situations in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen and Libya,” she added.

Then prime minister also said there are formidable challenges in ensuring health for all and urged WHO once again to lead the initiatives to tackle these challenges.

“Ensuring global public health security is also a global responsibility. As a global organization, WHO needs to maintain the lead to engage the nations on board,” she said.

Hasina underlined effective, results-oriented international coordination and cooperation for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal-3 and other health-related Goals.

Describing the achievements of Bangladesh in improving health, she said Bangladesh has reduced maternal mortality to 172 per 100,000 births, infant mortality to 24 per 1000 births and under-5 mortality to 31 per 1000 births.

Full vaccination coverage is now 82.3 percent, life expectancy is more than 72.8 years while fertility rate per women has dropped to 2.1, according to Hasina.

“The success in the use of information and communication technology for health services in Bangladesh is also recognised widely,” she said.

As per her party’s election manifesto, the new government is planning to expand the universal health coverage manifold and make health service free for child under one year and for elders over 65 years, the prime minister said.

She is Germany to attend the 55th Edition of Munich Security Conference.

She joined the inaugural session of the conference to discuss defence cooperation after the WHO roundtable.