The government should give top priority on health sector in the next budget with a view to saving people from any pandemic and minimising their woes, the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) said.
The CPD has advised the government to determine the allocation for health sector in the upcoming budget on the basis of proper demand assessment and the channel of budgetary allocation.
CPD has put forward their recommendations on its interim review of the national economy, titled "Challenges of Policy Making in Times of Pandemics; State of the Bangladesh Economy in FY2020" published on Sunday as part of CPD's Independent Review of Bangladesh's Development (IRBD) programme ahead of the national budget for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020-21.
During a virtual briefing, CPD Senior Research Fellow Towfiqul Islam Khan said, “It is important to understand that this year’s budget should be different as the present crisis was caused due to a deadly virus pandemic.”
“The elephant in the room for economic policymaking including the upcoming national budget is the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said adding that, “Saving people from loss of lives and sufferings ought to be the highest priority.”
He also called upon the government to put utmost priority to four sectors – health, social protection, agriculture and employment – in the next budget for the fiscal 2020-21.
“The government needs to come out of the usual budget framework utilize the resources for combating coronavirus crisis,” he mentioned.
He also called upon the government to put utmost priority to four sectors – health, social protection, agriculture and employment – in the next budget for the fiscal 2020-21.
He also called for other supportive measures such as gradual depreciation of Bangladeshi Taka and implementation of the stimulus packages in a timely manner by prioritising the deserving and marginalised entrepreneurs.
However, the CPD review report further said, "Covid-19 pandemic should induce the government to follow-up on its commitment of achieving universal health coverage (UHC).”
The report also suggested that the government should revisit its election manifesto commitment to provide cost-free health services to every person below the age of one and above 65.
"The next budget will also be a good opportunity for the government to follow-up on its commitment of raising the health budget to 12 percent in 2021 as outlined in the Health Care Financing Strategy 2012-2032," it added.
CPD Executive Director Dr Fahmida Khatun, Distinguished Fellow Professor Mustafizur Rahman and Research Director Khondaker Golam Moazzem, among others, joined the press briefing.