Equity in Access to Urban Health Services: Providing Urban Primary Health Care Services in Bangladesh

Ubaidur Rob, Population Council
Nargis Sultana, Population Council

In Bangladesh, cities are home to 65 million people (40% of the total population) and the urban population is estimated to reach 83 million by 2030. Existing urban health structures are largely inadequate to ensure universal access to health care for poor people. Cities are characterized by large inequalities in health-related conditions. Over 35 percent of the urban population reside in poor slum settlements. Slums, at more than 200,000 persons per square kilometer, are 250 times more densely populated than the rural average of 755 per square kilometer. Slum dwellers do not have easy and affordable access to public sector health care facilities and most slum dwellers have limited access to private-sector health care because of its high cost. In the absence of free public-sector health care provision in urban areas, this paper discusses the importance of universal access to affordable healthcare services for low-income urban population in Bangladesh.