Public-private collaboration key to affordable healthcare: Finance minister

Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury today (7 July) stressed the need for stronger public-private collaboration and greater emphasis on entrepreneurship to ensure the sustainable transformation of Bangladesh’s health sector and make quality healthcare more affordable for all.

“Increasing budget allocations alone would not be enough to improve healthcare services,” he said while addressing a programme titled “Pathways to Health Entrepreneurship in Bangladesh” at Hotel Amari in the capital.

The programme was attended by the prime minister’s wife and vice president of the Ziaur Rahman Foundation, Dr Zubaida Rahman, as the chief guest.

The minister said that the effective utilisation of existing resources through coordinated efforts, strategic planning, and continuous dialogue between the public and private sectors would be crucial for the sector’s long-term development.

Welcoming the initiative to establish a consultative alliance for the health sector, he said Bangladesh already has a strong foundation, including capable entrepreneurs, modern diagnostic centres, private hospitals, and a globally competitive pharmaceutical industry.

He also said that the national budget has introduced significant incentives for the pharmaceutical sector, including the establishment of dedicated zones for the production of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients to strengthen the country’s manufacturing capacity.

Expressing concern over Bangladesh’s high out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure, the finance minister said a closer public-private partnership would be essential to reducing treatment costs and ensuring affordable healthcare for all citizens.

Highlighting the government’s policy priorities, he said greater emphasis is being placed on primary and preventive healthcare services, while around 100,000 health workers are being deployed across rural areas to raise health awareness and promote preventive care.

He said the government has also decided to make greater use of private-sector expertise and facilities instead of relying solely on expanding public infrastructure.

The minister added that the budget offers attractive incentives for both local and foreign investors to manufacture medical equipment in Bangladesh, an initiative that has already generated encouraging responses from entrepreneurs.

Khosru said Bangladesh has immense entrepreneurial potential and, with the right policies and opportunities, its entrepreneurs can emerge among the world’s best.

The government’s development strategy is centred on private-sector-led economic growth, he added.

The finance minister expressed optimism that visionary leadership, supportive policies, and the efforts of the country’s entrepreneurs would help bring about transformative change in the health sector and ensure that quality healthcare reaches people’s doorsteps.