1.
Health Systems
and Access
Research Ideas
Dhaka
May 28, 2015

2.
Bangladesh Priorities
WORKING WITH 30-50 economists including Nobel Laureates, 100+
sector experts engaging major development organizations, NGOs,
government, businesses, youths, rural and urban Bangladeshis to
identify, analyze and prioritize interventions that will deliver greater
benefit per taka spent, helping move Bangladesh towards Vision 2021
and a more prosperous long term future.

3.
In cooperation with the Research
and Evaluation Division of BRAC,
Copenhagen Consensus Center
organized roundtable discussions
with an aim to figure out smarter
solutions to the most problematic
issues facing Bangladesh.
These roundtables are
one of several sources
for research ideas.
Sourcing ideas and solutions
Smarter solutions for Bangladesh
Complete set of papers
on 30-50 solutions
PRIORITIZATION
Government NGOs
Academia Pvt sector
Think tanks
Development
organizations
Eminent Panel
Assessment
Government and
donor seminars
Rural polls
Newspaper polls
among readers
Youth forums
across the country
Private sector
meetings
Social, economic and
environmental benefit-cost
research by top Bangladeshi,
and international economists
Extensive peer review by sector
experts and academics
100+ ideas on
policies & investments
20162015 Continuous
engagement with
the public via
electronic, print
and social media
Working with
civil society,
government and
sector experts
Widely
advocating
results of
prioritization
exercises
OUTREACH

4.
Research Ideas

5.
Health Systems and Access;
(1 of 8)
• Establishing a level of service delivery affordable by the
poor through government regulations on private
clinics/hospitals.
• Making private sector health service accountable to
DGHS.
• Decentralization of health professional’s recruitment
process – from doctors to nurses.
• Install and use MIS through central level for greater
transparency and accountability.
• A structured referral system, starting with a
prescription from the Community Clinic/Community
Health Worker, linked with a national level health
database.

6.
Health Systems and Access;
(2 of 8)
• Invest to establish the referral linkage – from
Community Clinics to urban level public, private
specialized hospitals.
• Access to quality healthcare through a digitized service
delivery system.
• Quality assurance/monitoring of drug companies.
• Creating a National Health Service database with
patients’ medical history to reduce the need for
multiple diagnostic tests.
• Increase doctor-patient counseling hours.
• Ensuring primary health care for the urban poor.
• Subsidize primary healthcare.

7.
Health Systems and Access;
(3 of 8)
• Deal with malaria in Bandarban and other Hill Tract
areas.
• Provide universal health insurance coverage.
• Incentives for public doctors working in hard-to-reach
areas.
• Health awareness campaigns through SMS.
• Private clinics and hospitals to allocate a certain
percentage of free beds for the poor.
• Private sector to allocate a certain percentage of their
profits for serving the poor.
• Clarifying the roles of public and private sector as per
the middle-income country (MIC) vision.

8.
Health Systems and Access;
(4 of 8)
• Monitoring compliance of the village and district level
hospitals/clinics with DGHS’s regulations.
• LGED and MoHFW to coordinate working on urban
health care system.
• More public health specialists, not doctors, for better
administration and coordination.
• Better primary healthcare - more and better doctors in
rural areas, more front line health workers.
• Retaining service providers at the Upazila level through
incentives for career development.
• Ensure accountability of doctors at the Union level
through available means (e.g. mobile phones, social
media, UDCs, etc.).

9.
Health Systems and Access;
(5 of 8)
• Develop institutional health system arrangements for
respective Hill District Councils.
• Financial support for Community Clinics to reduce
donor dependency.
• Use of electronic records to supplement the national
health/medical database.
• Utilizing existing informal sector of health service
delivery particularly for hard-to-reach areas.
• For containment of population (i) focus on long acting
permanent method (LAPM); (ii) target newly-wed
couples, particularly adolescents to delay the first birth.
• Continue and expand counseling on population control
and reproductive health and behavior in health care
centers.

10.
Health Systems and Access;
(6 of 8)
• Make effective use of government trained Community
Skilled Birth Attendants (CSBAs) and deployment of
newly trained midwives in newly created posts at union
and upazila.
• Building strategic partnerships with NGOs and private
sector for strengthening and expanding newborn care.
• Expansion of medical waste management to cover all
medical installations.
• Tribal-friendly health services through appropriate
initiatives.
• Incorporate counseling, health rights and ethics in all
medical, nursing and other education curricula along
with proper sensitization initiatives for the existing
health service providers.

11.
Health Systems and Access;
(7 of 8)
• Capacity building of health managers at district and
sub-district levels on data analysis, health planning and
monitoring.
• A population based database for community health
management information system.
• Strengthening Bangladesh Medical Research Council to
steward and coordinate all health sector research.
• Strengthen BSMMU’s research capacity to make best
use of its resources.
• Address maldistribution of health personnel across
regions.
• Steps for empowering women’s decision making over
reproductive health through proper education and
information.

12.
Health Systems and Access;
(8 of 8)
• A 'disability' budget for each ministry.
• Increase public expenditure to US$ 54 per capita to
cover a basic package of services, including
interventions targeting NCDs.
• Free healthcare for RMG workers.
• A comprehensive mental health service delivery plan to
address the growing psychological needs.
• Expand TB diagnosis and treatment.
• Continue implementation of Health, Population and
Nutrition Sector Development Program (HPNSDP) to
strengthen and expand nutrition specific interventions
among pregnant and lactating women, newborn babies,
under-5 children and adolescent girls.

13.
Full List of Attendees and
Interviewees
Dr. Md. Yunus, Consultant/Senior Scientist, ICDDR.
Dr. Abdul Kuddus, Project Manager, PCP, Diabetic
Association of Bangladesh.
Dr. Jahiruddin Ahmed, Interim Chair, DM&N, BRAC
University.
Dr. Mahbub Elahi, Scientist, ICDDR.
Dr. Mohammod Abdus Sabur, Consultant, Freelance.
Dr. Quazi Al Mamun Siddiqii, Senior Manager-TB,
BRAC.
Dr. Musarrat Parvin.
Tahsin Ifnoor Sayeed, M&E Specialist, DNET.
Dr. Fida Mehran, Head Content (Deputy Director),
DNet.
Dr. Mahfuzur Rahman, Program Head, BRAC.
Dr. Bayzidur Rahman, Assistant Professor, UNSW.
Anita Sharif, Research Fellow, RED BRAC.
Iqbal Anwar, Scientist, ICDDR.
Md. Mahbubul Kabir, Senior Research Fellow, BRAC.
Nusrat Khan, Research Associate, RED BRAC.
Dr. Tariqul Islam, PD, URB.
Mr. Mashreky, Director, CIPRB.
Moktadir Kabir, TB & Malaria Program ,BRAC.
Md. Akramul Islam, Director TB, WASH and DECC,
BRAC.