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Bangladesh’s health crisis deepens as reforms stall in 2025

A year of broken promises: Bangladesh’s health system collapsed under inaction, stranding patients without care. Why were urgent reforms abandoned?

,   and  Administrator
2 min read
There are five member standing here posing for a picture. Two of the were women and the remaining...
There are five member standing here posing for a picture. Two of the were women and the remaining three were men. In front there is a table on which food has placed and there are some chairs beside the table. In the background there is a wall and a Door.

Bangladesh’s health crisis deepens as reforms stall in 2025

Bangladesh’s health sector faced another year of stagnation in 2025, despite multiple reform proposals and policy initiatives. Key recommendations from the Health Reform Commission, submitted in May, were ignored, leaving critical services in disarray. Patients and healthcare workers alike continued to struggle with shortages and inefficiencies across the country.

The Health Reform Commission’s report, delivered in May 2025, outlined urgent changes needed to fix the country’s ailing health system. Yet by the end of the year, not a single recommendation had been put into action. Commission members expressed frustration as their proposals gathered dust, with no government response or follow-up.

Operational plans under the 4th Health, Population and Nutrition Sector Programme were suspended, causing widespread disruptions. Medicine supplies ran low, hitting remote areas the hardest. Patients in rural districts faced acute shortages, with some unable to access even basic treatments. A taskforce assigned to update essential medicines and set fair pricing never met, leaving drug availability and costs unregulated. Hospitals reported persistent shortages of critical supplies, including anti-venom and vaccines for children. Immunisation programmes faltered, leaving young patients at risk. The government did hire 3,000 new doctors in 2025, but this barely offset losses from retirements, resignations, and doctors leaving the country. Thousands of positions remained vacant, worsening staff shortages in overburdened facilities. Neither general nor specialised care saw meaningful improvements, and public health functions continued to deteriorate. Protests and work stoppages by healthcare staff further crippled services. Despite the unrest, no tangible improvements reached patients. Clinics and hospitals remained understaffed, understocked, and unable to meet demand.

By the close of 2025, Bangladesh’s health system remained in much the same state as before—plagued by unfilled jobs, drug shortages, and neglected reforms. The government’s inaction on the Health Reform Commission’s proposals left gaps in care unaddressed. Without intervention, patients and providers will continue facing the same preventable struggles in the year ahead.

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