Here an update on current activities received from the WHO country office in Bangladesh:
1. Preparations of a draft law on social health protection, so that institutions could be established to run an insurance pilot program, and recruit manpower to run a regulatory body for the new UHC institutions, within MOH. This is intended to cover all interventions that have been planned in the new HCFS.
2. Stakeholder consultations (five rounds) have been done to familiarize people with the concept and definition of UHC.
3. A Bangla version of the draft Law is being worked out too.
4. A set of indicators and measuring tools for progress towards UHC is now ready. It has been shared and disseminated with experts and stakeholders (46 indicators).
5. Baseline studies are underway for the new pilot program on health insurance (the SSK).
6. Training and capacity development are underway, on UHC and NHA.
7. A study to propose the benefit package and costing for a new formal sector insurance program (for civil servants) is about to begin.
8. A study on urban slums and their health care access and needs, is now going on.
