Urban Health Track Proposed for India and Bangladesh to Reach Toward UN Sustainable Development Goals for 2030
Cities in India and Bangladesh—including 5 megacities of more than 10 million—continue to grow faster than the capacity to maintain and improve urban health. Current health spending will have to triple in both countries to approach the health-related 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals. The cost of an “essential package” of 208 interventions adapted from Disease Control Priorities, 3rd edition, would run about $105 in India and $75 in Bangladesh for each urban dweller to reach 80% coverage, according to a new analysis published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization. Current spending is about $30 and $26 in India and Bangladesh, respectively. About 80% of the new investment would go to primary health centres and first-level hospitals, only about 5% to referral and specialized hospitals, and the remainder to community-based interventions. Without this expansion or a comparable strategy, India and Bangladesh are likely to fall farther behind in building vibrant and healthy city populations.
Read the full paper here (WHO Bulletin Web Site) or (PDF)