Bangladesh Health System’s Response to COVID-19 during First Nine Weeks: A Rapid Study on the Key Building Blocks

15, December 2020 | Bangladesh

Authors:

Abstract

Like most countries in the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a difficult and challenging situa�on in Bangladesh and demanded a country’s healthcare system to incorporate cri�cal and responsive measures to mi�gate its dreadful outcome. In order to assess the responsiveness of the exis�ng health system, the best approach is to consider the WHO’s health systems framework in terms of six building blocks (service delivery, health workforce, health informa�on systems, access to essen�al medicines, financing, and governance).1 An a�empt was taken to document and elucidate Bangladesh’s health system responses to the surge of COVID-19 since its outbreak. The study mainly focuses on the responses in terms of service delivery, health workforce and governance with limited coverage on other building blocks of the health system.