Staff Correspondent

The number of patients with hypertension in Bangladesh is surging exponentially. While the provision of anti-hypertensive medicine has already commenced at the grassroots level, it is crucial to ensure its availability in all healthcare facilities to effectively control hypertension-related non-communicable diseases and deaths associated with it. At the same time, necessary funding must be ensured for an uninterrupted supply of the medicine.

These information and recommendations were highlighted at a workshop for journalists titled “Hypertension Control in Bangladesh: Progress and Way Forward” held at the Conference Hall of RDRS in Rangpur on Thursday.

The workshop was organized by research and advocacy organization PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) with support from Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI). A total of thirty-one journalists from Rangpur division working in print, electronic, and online media houses participated in the workshop.

It was informed at the workshop that one in every four adults in Bangladesh is suffering from hypertension and it is one of the major risk factors for various non-communicable diseases including heart diseases, stroke, cancer, kidney diseases, respiratory diseases and diabetes. Although non-communicable diseases account for 70 percent of the total deaths in Bangladesh, the budgetary allocation dedicated to combat NCDs is alarmingly low, comprising only 4.2 percent of the total health budget.

Availability of anti-hypertensive medicine at the grassroots level along with sustainable funding is crucial to effectively address worrying non-communicable diseases like hypertension, prevent heart attacks and strokes and save lives.

Muhammad Ruhul Quddus, Bangladesh Country Lead of GHAI, Md. Mahbubul Islam, Central Committee Member of Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance (ATMA) and Divisional Correspondent of ATN Bangla, and ABM Zubair, Executive Director of PROGGA were present at the event as discussants. PROGGA’s Director Md. Shahedul Alam and Coordinator Sadia Galiba Prova delivered presentations on hypertension control.