Typical health budget offers no surprise

Allocation for the health sector in the budget proposed for FY24 is just like the health budget in any other year. There are no surprises in the budget. Last year, the allocation for the health sector was 5.4% of the total budget. It has come down to 5% this year, when the health budget needs to be increased proportionally.

The growth in the amount of money allocated for the health sector is low compared to the overall budget growth. The state budget increased by 12.34% but the health budget allocation grew by only 3.23%.

The proposed health budget this year focuses on operating expenses, while the development cost is down by 17%. The current year is the last one of the five-year plan, so there was not much allocation for the Annual Development Programme. The reduction in development expenditure had an impact on the health budget.

The tax concession given on drugs for cancer, and diabetes patients in this year's budget is a positive initiative. Other than that, there are no major steps.

During the Covid-19 pandemic we saw that a lump sum was put aside for emergencies. The government could have continued providing such allocation, which could be spent on any other emergency. Various types of health emergencies arise every year. Covid-19 pandemic has subsided, but the dengue situation is getting worse this year. That is why it was not right to remove the allocation for emergencies.

There are allocations for the ongoing projects, including increasing hospital beds and construction of medical colleges, in the proposed budget.

Developing the health sector is an ongoing process, so we need to increase the number of beds in the hospitals. The number of hospital beds and ICUs increased during the Covid-19 pandemic. We need to ensure that they remain effective now.

There is no direction in this year's budget to achieve universal health coverage. Reduction of out-of-pocket expenditure, and development of primary health care are also not mentioned.

However, the government is planning the Fifth Health, Population, and Nutrition Sector Programme (5th HPNSP), which focuses primarily on health care. Maybe we will get a reflection of that in the next budget.

Dr Syed Abdul Hamid, Professor at Institute of Health Economics, Dhaka University