Bangladesh Health Watch and Unnayan Shamannay organized a dialogue on Saturday,  September 25, 2021 at 11:00 AM. The title of the event was- “Assessing progress towards realization of health-related commitments of Election 2018”. 

The online session was moderated by media personality Mithila Farzana and the discussants were:

 

• Dr. Atiur Rahman, Unnayan Shamannay Chair and former Governor of Bangladesh Bank 

• Abu Sayeed Al Mahmood Swapon, MP, Whip of Bangladesh National Parliament

• Dr. Ruhal Haque, MP, Member of the Parliamentary Committee on the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

• Dr. Habibe Millat, MP; parliamentarian from Sirajganj 02 constituency

• Dr. Samil Uddin Ahmed Shimul, MP; parliamentarian from Chapai Nawabganj 01 constituency 

• Shamim Haider Patwary, MP, parliamentarian from  Gaibandha 01 constituency

• Gloria Jharna Sarker, MP; parliamentarian from reserved women seat 30

• Dr. Mustafa Jalal Mohiuddin, President of Bangladesh Medical Association

 

At the onset, the moderator welcomed the participants and gave a short brief of the program.

The commitments related to development of the health sector made by the political parties prior to the National Elections of 2018 have become even more relevant because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Over the course of three National Budgets, significant amounts of resources have been allocated to attain these goals. Yet there remains a long way to go. It is highly imperative to measure the budget's effectiveness, assessing what goals are being attained using the allocations for healthcare. 

Bangladesh Health Watch, a multi-stakeholder civil society initiative dedicated to improving the health systems in Bangladesh through an evidence-based critical review of policies and programs, has collaboratively organized this virtual dialogue with Unnayan Samannay, where speakers presented their opinions and the present situation of healthcare of Bangladesh in accordance with the election manifesto. In total, 322 Members of the Parliament have been distributed the Policy Brief of Election Manifesto from Bangladesh Health Watch and Unnayan Shamannay.

Keynote speaker Dr. Atiur Rahman, Unnayan Shamannay Chair and former Governor of Bangladesh Bank, pointed out that just analyzing the budgetary allocations would not suffice to understand the extent of realization of the election manifesto commitments related to healthcare. Rather, he added, stakeholders ought the check for what goals the administration intends to attain with those allocations. For that additional Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) could be incorporated in the Medium-term Budgetary Framework (MTFB) of the government.

Ruhal Haque, MP, Member of the Parliamentary Committee on the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said that ensuring adequate human resources for the healthcare sector should be considered as the topmost priority. 

Shamim Haider Patwary, MP emphasized on the need for decentralization of public health administration. 

Whip of Bangladesh National Parliament Sayeed Al Mahmood informed the audience that the government is committed to fulfilling its healthcare-related election commitments despite numerous challenges posed by the ongoing pandemic. 

 Dr. Ruamana Haque, Dhaka University Professor and Working Group Member of Bangladesh Health Watch, delivered the vote of thanks on behalf of the organizers.

Media coverage: The event got media attention. Leading print and electronic media including The Daily Star, The Business Post, Dhaka Post, News Bangla 24.com published reports on the event. 

 

Category	Number of Reports
English	02
Online	02
Total	04

The moderator concluded the event by giving thanks to all for their active participation and valuable comments.