Call for Sustainable Financing to Combat High Blood Pressure
A call has been made to ensure sustainable financing to combat high blood pressure. The call has been raised because it is difficult to run effective programmes against this disease, known as a silent killer, without a long-term and reliable supply of funds.
High blood pressure is one of the leading non-communicable diseases in Bangladesh. Many patients remain unaware for a long time that they are suffering from it, because in the early stages it shows hardly any symptoms. Later, it creates the risk of serious problems such as heart disease, stroke and kidney complications.
To control this disease, regular blood pressure measurement, awareness-raising, early detection, and regular medication and follow-up arrangements are essential. Each of these activities requires continuous funding.
Sustainable financing means a system in which programmes for the prevention and treatment of high blood pressure can be carried on year after year, without depending on one-off projects or temporary assistance.
According to experts, if the system of detecting and controlling blood pressure is strengthened at the primary healthcare level, pressure on large hospitals will also decrease, and patients' costs will come down too.
As a result, the call is now on the policymakers' table. How much budget is allocated to combating high blood pressure and what framework of sustainable financing is created will determine how fruitful the fight against this silent killer proves to be in the days ahead.
