|
Private initiative in health sector
4/2/2005
HEALTH care is a fundamental human right. But as it happens in the case of all other basic human rights like food, shelter and education, the most needy in society find it hard to have access to such basic needs. When one is talking of the role of the government in ensuring people this basic health need, the question of their right to access the service takes centre stage. Regrettably, the nation is still far from ensuring this right to all the people, especially those falling under the lower income bracket. And as everyone knows, most of these people also remain in rural Bangladesh where there are fewer doctors and hospitals. And it is not just the scantiness of the health service delivery infrastructure in the countryside that comes in the way of the poor to have access to the service. The declared and undeclared costs of whatever service is available in the nearby hospitals and clinics at the upazila or district headquarters are also prohibitive for the rural people. On the other hand, at the more advanced urban centres at the divisional headquarters and the capital city itself, the problem, however, is not one of scarcity of the service. It is again its forbidding cost. What is the way out of this predicament?
Taking the economic constraints of a poor country like Bangladesh into consideration, one cannot expect that the government alone would bear the entire burden of delivering the health service to all the people including the poor. And the prime minister has categorically admitted to this fact of life while addressing the audience present on the occasion of the inauguration of a world-class referral hospital in the city last Wednesday. The hospital has been established with the private initiative. It is also an instance of foreign investment in the health sector.
The prime minister while appreciating the initiative has called upon the private sector to come in a big way in the health sector. An enhanced role of the private sector in the healthcare service will greatly contribute to the government's effort to deliver the service to the doorstep of all the people. But while welcoming the local and foreign investors in the health sector, one needs also to return again to the plight of the poor, especially those residing in the backwaters of the rural reality. The private health sector can also extend its helping hand by reducing the cost of the service for the needy.
Extending quality health service to all the people, regardless of their economic condition, should not be looked at from a pure socio-moral or altruistic point of view. In fact, there are pragmatic reasons for encouraging foreign and local investment in the private health sector. It is worthwhile to note here that, of late, people in need of treatment are going abroad in increasing numbers. Such outward flight of the local patients for treatment does not certainly speak well of the existing service whether in the private or in the government hospitals. But such foreign-bound patients do not only simply speak volumes for the poor quality of the country's existing health service delivery regime. The trend is also proving to be a huge drain on the country's foreign exchange reserve. Or in other words, the country is being punished economically for its failure to provide quality health service to the local patients. Under the circumstances, it is now incumbent upon the government to put its foot down to improve the situation in the health sector at home. The foreign and local entrepreneurs should be given necessary supports and incentives so that they may consider investment in this area profitable.
|