United News of Bangladesh

Health experts on Wednesday urged the government to ensure sustainable financing and increase budgetary allocation in the upcoming FY2026-27 national budget to strengthen hypertension prevention and treatment services nationwide. The call came at a discussion titled “Prioritising Hypertension Control: Bangladesh Perspective,” organised by research and advocacy organization PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) with support from Global Health Advocacy Incubator at the BMA Bhaban in Dhaka on Tuesday, marking World Hypertension Day 2026. This year’s global theme is “Controlling Hypertension Together.” Speakers at the event said non-communicable diseases (NCDs) currently account for 71 percent of all deaths in Bangladesh, with hypertension being a major contributing factor. According to the World Health Organization’s 2025 report, around 283,800 people died from cardiovascular diseases in Bangladesh in 2024, and 52 percent of those deaths were linked to hypertension. They noted that although the government has initiated the distribution of free anti-hypertensive medicines at the grassroots level, inadequate financing continues to hamper uninterrupted medicine supply at Community Clinics and Upazila Health Complexes across the country. Dr. Md. Enamul Haque, Director General (Additional Secretary) of the Health Economics Unit, stressed the need for both increased allocation and effective utilisation of the budget for hypertension control. Md. Khorshed Alam, NDC, Managing Director (Additional Secretary) of the Community Clinic Health Support Trust, said the government is working to ensure uninterrupted supply of hypertension medicines at grassroots health facilities. Public health expert Dr. Lelin Choudhury said ensuring free medicine supply at the community level would significantly reduce hypertension-related diseases and deaths. Professor Dr. Malay Kanti Mridha of BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health emphasised the importance of research-based prevention and treatment strategies to effectively control hypertension. Professor Dr. Shafiun Nahin Shimul, Director of the Institute of Health Economics, University of Dhaka, said sustainable financing for hypertension control should be viewed as a long-term investment. Among others, Dr. Geeta Rani Devi of the Directorate General of Health Services, Shamsun Naher Nahid of BIRDEM General Hospital, and ABM Zubair, Executive Director of PROGGA, also spoke at the event.