Policymakers, researchers and public health experts at a dialogue on Saturday called for urgent reforms to Bangladesh's climate-health financing system, warning that budget allocations for the sector have declined despite growing climate-related health risks across the country.
The call came at a high-level policy dialogue titled "Climate-Responsive Health Financing and Health System Resilience in Bangladesh", organised by the Center for Participatory Research and Development (CPRD) in collaboration with HEKS/EPER and Shushilan at BRAC Centre Inn in Dhaka ahead of the FY2026-27 national budget.
Findings from a study presented at the event showed that climate-relevant allocations within the Health Services Division fell from 2.74 percent of its total budget in FY2021-22 to 1.97 percent in FY2025-26. The Health National Adaptation Plan (HNAP) estimates that approximately $1.4 billion will be needed over the next five years to build climate-resilient health systems, yet current financing remains heavily project-oriented.
The study also found that less than 1 percent of financing from the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund (BCCTF) has been allocated to health-related projects. Of the 877 projects funded through the trust fund as of 2024, only three were implemented through the Health Services Division.
The study also highlighted major structural weaknesses in climate-health financing.
More than 60 percent of climate-health expenditure is concentrated in development projects, while critical investments in disease surveillance, emergency preparedness, workforce capacity, climate-health research, and long-term health system resilience continue to receive limited attention.
The findings suggested a persistent gap between national climate-health ambitions and the financing mechanisms needed to implement them.
Health's share of the national climate budget also declined during the same period, dropping from about 2.5 percent to 1.5 percent, even as Bangladesh faces increasing exposure to climate-induced health threats.
A separate study has said serious reproductive and maternal health challenges among women in coastal areas, linked to climate-induced poverty, water scarcity, salinity intrusion, and inadequate sanitation services.
Women participating in the study reported a wide range of reproductive health complications, including irregular menstruation, severe menstrual pain, amenorrhea, abnormal bleeding, miscarriage, pre-eclampsia, postpartum infections, hemorrhage, and chronic reproductive health conditions.
