Health rights activists and public health experts on Wednesday said that hypertension was taking a heavy toll in Bangladesh due to inadequate and unsustainable financing for prevention and treatment services.
They called on the government to increase budgetary allocation for hypertension control in the 2026–27 financial year and ensure uninterrupted supply of anti-hypertensive medicines at grassroots health facilities.
The observations came at a discussion titled ‘Prioritising Hypertension Control: Bangladesh Perspective’, organised by PROGGA, a local anti-tobacco group, with support from the Global Health Advocacy Incubator, an international organisation, at the BMA Bhaban in the capital Dhaka ahead of World Hypertension Day to be observed on May 17.
This year’s theme for the day is ‘Controlling Hypertension Together’.
According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics Health and Morbidity Status Survey 2025, hypertension ranks first among the top 10 diseases in Bangladesh.
Speakers at the programme said that although the government had decided to provide free anti-hypertensive medicines, the initiative had not been fully implemented because of inadequate financing.
They said that non-communicable diseases currently accounted for 71 per cent of all deaths in Bangladesh, with hypertension being one of the leading contributing factors.
Citing a 2025 report by the World Health Organisation, the speakers said that 2,83,800 people in Bangladesh died from cardiovascular diseases in 2024 and that 52 per cent of those deaths were linked to hypertension.
Globally, more than 10 million people die from hypertension every year, exceeding the combined deaths caused by all infectious diseases, they added.
The discussants noted that although the government had started providing free anti-hypertensive medicines at community clinics and upazila health complexes, insufficient budget allocation was disrupting uninterrupted supply across the country.
Health Economics Unit director general Md Enamul Haque said that alongside increasing budget allocation, effective implementation of the allocated funds was equally important.
Community Clinic Health Support Trust managing director Md Khorshed Alam said that the government was continuing efforts to ensure uninterrupted medicine supply to community clinics and upazila health complexes.
Public health expert Dr Lelin Choudhury said that ensuring free medicine supply at the grassroots level could significantly reduce hypertension-related diseases and deaths.
BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health professor Dr Malay Kanti Mridha said that hypertension could be effectively controlled through research-based treatment and preventive measures.
Institute of Health Economics director Professor Dr Shafiun Nahin Shimul said that sustainable financing for hypertension control should be considered a long-term public health investment.
Channel 24 executive director Zahirul Alam, Directorate General of Health Services medical officer Dr Geeta Rani Devi, BIRDEM General Hospital chief nutritionist Shamsun Naher Nahid and PROGGA executive director ABM Zubair also spoke at the programme chaired by Muhammad Ruhul Quddus, Bangladesh country lead of the Global Health Advocacy Incubator.
