Bangladesh slashes health budget by $750M, endangering dengue control efforts

Bangladesh has slashed its health sector budget by over Tk 8,000 crore in the revised Annual Development Programme (ADP) for 2025-26. The cuts will hit key initiatives, including a mosquito control project designed to combat dengue outbreaks. Officials point to poor implementation rates as the reason behind the reductions.

The revised ADP for 2025-26 reduces the overall health sector budget from Tk 12,883.32 crore to Tk 4,753.78 crore. This represents a cut of Tk 8,129.50 crore, significantly impacting ongoing projects. Among the hardest hit is the Improvement of Urban Public Health Preventive Services Project, which saw its funding drop from around Tk 284.70 crore to just Tk 54.70 crore.

The project, launched in 2023, initially struggled as dengue cases surged to a record 321,000 in that year, with 281 deaths—mostly in Dhaka, Narayanganj, and Chattogram. By early 2026, cases had fallen sharply to around 2,500, though Dhaka remained the worst-affected area. Despite this progress, the funding cut threatens efforts to sustain mosquito control measures.

The planning ministry attributed the reductions to inefficiency within the Medical Education and Family Welfare Division and the Health Services Division. Both agencies have faced criticism for low ADP implementation rates. Health experts have also highlighted long-standing issues, including high out-of-pocket healthcare costs, which rose from 55.9% in 1997 to 68.5% in 2020. Meanwhile, government health spending fell from 36.1% to 23.2% over the same period.

Critics argue that the government has failed to address structural problems in the health sector. They also question the appointment of officials responsible for project execution, calling for more competent leadership to manage essential health programmes.

The revised budget leaves the dengue control project and other health initiatives with far fewer resources. Without adequate funding, sustaining progress in mosquito control and public health services could become difficult. The cuts also raise concerns about the government's ability to tackle future outbreaks effectively.