The government has proposed Tk 69,409 crore for the health sector in fiscal year 2026-27, equivalent to 1.01 per cent of GDP, marking the first time health spending has crossed the 1 per cent threshold.
Health expenditure in the revised FY2025-26 budget stood at Tk 35,477 crore, or 0.58 per cent of GDP, Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury said while placing the proposal in parliament on Thursday. The new allocation is nearly double the revised outlay.
The budget proposes multiple tax and duty exemptions on healthcare services and public health products aimed at reducing treatment costs. The measures are expected to ease expenses for kidney, heart and eye patients and persons with disabilities, while also encouraging local production of medicines and medical equipment.
Removal of VAT on imported heart stents and intraocular lenses is expected to reduce prices by around Tk 20,000 and Tk 5,000, respectively. Similarly, withdrawal of advance tax on blood tubing sets used in kidney dialysis may reduce dialysis costs by about Tk 800.
The finance minister said a healthy population is essential for sustainable development and building a prosperous Bangladesh. He noted that despite large expenditures by previous governments, the healthcare system did not improve as expected due to corruption and misuse of funds.
"As a result, public hospitals remain overcrowded, many people do not receive quality treatment, and a significant amount of foreign currency is spent on medical treatment abroad," Khasru said.
Highlighting recent progress, he said the government brought almost 100 per cent of children under the measles-rubella vaccination programme within its first 100 days in office, following outbreaks caused by earlier mismanagement and weak planning.
The government plans to establish a modern national drug and vaccine supply network to ensure essential medicines and vaccines reach remote areas. It also aims to strengthen maternal and child healthcare, nutrition and immunisation programmes, while expanding services to rural and marginalised communities.
Under the plan, district hospitals and upazila health complexes will be upgraded into secondary healthcare facilities, with increased bed capacity and expanded services, including maternal, newborn, child, reproductive healthcare and physiotherapy.
To address workforce shortages, the government will recruit 5,000 MBBS doctors and 100,000 health workers, 80 per cent of whom will be women. The budget also includes plans to modernise medical education, expand nursing opportunities and support the pharmaceutical sector through investment, research and policy incentives.
