People’s Participation in Health Services: A Study of Bangladesh’s Rural Health Complex

Abstract

Health is a basic requirement to improve the quality of life. A national economic and social development depends on the state of health. A large number of Bangladesh’s people, particularly in rural areas, remained with no or little access to health care facilities. The lack of participation in health service is a problem that has many dimensions and complexities. Education has a significant effect on participation in health services and administrative factors could play a significant role in increasing the people’s participation in Bangladesh’s health sector. But the present health policy is not people oriented. It mainly emphasizes the construction of Thana Health Complexes (THCs) and Union Health and Family Welfare Centers (UHFWCs) without giving much attention to their utilization and delivery services. The study reveals that financial and technical support is very helpful to ensure health service among village people. However, the Government allocates only 5 percent of the budget to the health sector, while it allocates 13 percent for defense. The paper shows that the Government’s allocation and technical support (medical equipments) are not sufficient in the rural health complex and that the people’s participation is far from being satisfactory. The paper concludes with a variety of recommendations.

Keywords: Health, Participation, Rural Health, Bangladesh

JEL Classification: I11, I18, O15