BUHN 8th Virtual Seminar on Urban Health and Access to Drug and Medicine
The Bangladesh Urban Health Network (BUHN) successfully organized its 8th Knowledge Sharing Virtual Seminar on “Urban Health and Access to Drug and Medicine” on Wednesday, September 3, 2025. The session, held via Zoom from 3:00 PM to 4:30 PM (BST). The seminar brought together health experts, policymakers, practitioners, academics, and representatives from civil society to explore the critical challenges facing Bangladesh’s urban populations in accessing safe and affordable medicines. In particular, discussions highlighted the vulnerabilities of marginalized communities, regulatory and supply chain barriers, and the urgent need for stronger collaboration and governance to ensure equitable medicine access across urban Bangladesh.
The session opened with a welcome address from Dr. Margub Aref Jahangir, Health Specialist (Urban), Health Section, UNICEF Bangladesh. He stressed the urgent need to ensure equitable, safe, and affordable access to medicines in urban Bangladesh, especially for the poor and vulnerable populations. He called for strengthened pharmaceutical governance, innovative solutions, and collective dialogue to close equity gaps. His remarks set the tone for the discussions, emphasizing that the issue of medicine accessibility is not merely a health challenge but also a matter of social justice.
A panel discussion followed, featuring insights from prominent experts. The panel discussion began with Major (Retd.) Dr. Md. Khoshroz Samad, Guest Classified Specialist in Pharmacology at the Armed Forces Medical College and a member of the Executive Council of the Bangladesh Pharmacological Society (BDPS). He focused on the challenges of urban health in Bangladesh, particularly the high cost and limited access to essential medicines for non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Stressing the urgency of stronger regulation, he called for better inter-ministerial coordination and the adoption of digital health solutions to enhance pharmaceutical governance and ensure medicines are both accessible and affordable.
Following this, Professor Dr. Farhana Dewan, Member of the Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society of Bangladesh (OGSB), highlighted the critical challenges faced by urban and marginalized women in accessing reproductive and maternal medicines. She emphasized the frequent stockouts of essential medicines in health facilities and noted that a lack of awareness among women often compounds the problem. She called for the establishment of a dedicated regulatory committee, stronger collaboration between government and professional associations, and the active role of OGSB in ensuring drug availability. She also stressed the importance of educating OGSB’s 3,500+ members to maintain stock of essential medicines for women’s health, underscoring that equitable access to medicines is vital for maternal and reproductive health outcomes.
Dr. Kazi Saifuddin Bennoor, Senior Consultant at United Hospital, Dhaka, drew attention to the growing burden of respiratory diseases in urban Bangladesh, largely fueled by air pollution and health system disparities. He pointed out critical gaps in medicine access, noting that while public facilities often suffer from low availability, private services remain prohibitively costly for many urban residents. Dr. Bennoor suggested promoting generic medicines, expanding free screening programs, and strengthening public drug supply systems as effective solutions to address these challenges. His remarks highlighted the intersection of environmental health risks with systemic inequities in access to medicines.
From the perspective of the media and civil society, Rashed Rabbi, Health Editor of Kalbela and President of the Bangladesh Health Reports Forum, pointed to critical governance gaps in urban health. He noted that the discontinuation of government operational plans has forced slum residents to bear higher medicine costs while also facing limited access to family planning services. He also raised concerns about the absence of timely medical responses during emergencies, citing the recent school tragedy as a reflection of systemic weaknesses in urban healthcare delivery. His intervention underscored the importance of accountability, continuity of government initiatives, and the role of the media in amplifying these pressing urban health challenges.
The open discussion and Q&A session brought additional perspectives. Dr. Sabiha Sultana Tonni, a medical professional, emphasized the vital role of gynecologists in promoting equitable access to essential medicines. She highlighted disparities in drug availability across urban facilities and stressed that addressing these gaps is essential for improving maternal and child health outcomes. Building on her points, Professor Dr. Farhana Dewan again underscored the need for senior gynecologists to guide the safe use of medicines during pregnancy and raised concerns about the risks of over-the-counter medication practices. She also emphasized that frequent stock shortages disproportionately affect marginalized women in urban areas. Ms. Musharrat Jahan, Manager of Policy Advocacy at Save the Children International, highlighted the inadequacies of urban health strategies for slum dwellers, who continue to rely heavily on NGOs for healthcare. She stressed the need for stronger community engagement and more effective systems for ensuring access to essential medicines for these vulnerable groups. Her comments reinforced the importance of policy alignment and grassroots involvement in strengthening urban health systems.
The seminar’s Chief Guest, Mr. Md. Mamunur Rashid, Joint Secretary (World Health Wing), Health Services Division, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, underscored the government’s ongoing initiatives to address the growing burden of NCDs and ensure equitable access to essential medicines, particularly in urban settings where prevalence is high. He emphasized the importance of platforms such as BUHN’s knowledge-sharing seminars, which generate actionable recommendations that can inform national policy decisions. He also connected the seminar’s outcomes to the upcoming Fourth UN High-Level Meeting on the Prevention and Control of NCDs and the Promotion of Mental Health and Wellbeing (HLM4) in September 2025, highlighting the relevance of such dialogues in shaping Bangladesh’s preparedness for global health commitments.
The session concluded with closing remarks from Dr. Md. Shamim Hayder Talukder, Chief Executive Officer of Eminence Associates for Social Development and Member Secretary of BUHN. He thanked the speakers, panelists, and participants for their valuable contributions and emphasized the urgent challenges posed by both non-communicable and emerging communicable diseases such as dengue and chikungunya. Noting that urban poor populations face the greatest barriers to essential medicine access, he reaffirmed BUHN’s commitment to advancing solutions through continued dialogue. He also highlighted BUHN’s upcoming Policy Dialogue on Private Sector Engagement in Urban Health, scheduled for September 22, 2025, as the next step in this ongoing effort.
The seminar concluded with the formulation of key decisions that reflect the consensus of the discussions. First, participants agreed on the importance of ensuring at least 80% availability of essential NCD and maternal health medicines in urban areas by strengthening supply chains and stock management systems. Second, they recommended regular revision of the Essential Drug List, with a particular focus on women’s health and NCDs, along with enhanced supervision of drug distribution and availability. Third, the seminar underscored the need to improve coordination between ministries, strengthen regulatory oversight of retail pharmacies, and raise awareness on post-LDC reforms to reinforce urban pharmaceutical governance. Fourth, fostering public-private partnerships was highlighted as a priority to expand affordable access to life-saving medicines, especially for marginalized groups. Fifth, the use of digital health solutions was emphasized, including the development of prescription tracking systems, pharmacovigilance tools, and transparent monitoring of medicine availability. Finally, the seminar called for the establishment of community pharmacy models, along with the training and regulation of informal providers, to prioritize vulnerable populations and reduce catastrophic health expenditures.
Overall, the 8th Knowledge Sharing Virtual Seminar provided a dynamic platform for dialogue, bringing together diverse perspectives to address one of the most pressing issues in urban health - access to safe and affordable medicines. The discussions and decisions reflected the shared understanding that addressing this challenge requires coordinated efforts from government, professional associations, civil society, and the private sector. By emphasizing both systemic reforms and community-centered interventions, the seminar laid the foundation for advancing equitable access to medicines in Bangladesh’s urban health landscape.
