Khairul Alam – A vast majority of mothers and children in Bangladesh remain utterly vulnerable to health-related financial shocks, as a new government survey reveals that an overwhelming 98.4% have no health insurance coverage.
With institutional or commercial health insurance virtually non-existent for this demographic, families are forced to bear catastrophic medical expenses out of their own pockets, frequently spiraling into severe financial distress.
The troubling reality was highlighted in the latest findings of the Bangladesh Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2025, published by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
Despite a growing global emphasis on Universal Health Coverage (UHC), Bangladesh’s social and financial safety nets for maternal and child healthcare remain strikingly underdeveloped.
According to the BBS data, a mere 0.8% of mothers aged between 15 and 49 are covered by any form of health insurance.
The statistics are even grimmer for minors: only 0.4% of children aged 5 to 17, and an identical 0.4% of children under the age of five, possess health insurance coverage.
Essentially, almost every mother and child in the country navigates health emergencies without financial protection.
Health economists attribute this critical gap to the absence of a viable health insurance culture in the country. Commercial insurance providers have largely refrained from introducing accessible policies for maternal and pediatric care.
High-risk, capital-intensive medical scenarios—such as pregnancy complications, C-section deliveries, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) admissions, and general ICU stays—raise operational risks for insurers.
Consequently, premiums remain prohibitively expensive for low- and middle-income families.
As a result, out-of-pocket medical expenditures in Bangladesh have skyrocketed. Data from the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) indicates that Bangladeshi households face the highest personal financial burden for healthcare in South Asia.
Out-of-pocket spending currently accounts for an alarming 79.3% of total health expenditure in the country—far above the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended benchmark of 30% to 35%.
Public health experts warn that a single major illness or medical emergency is often enough to push a vulnerable family into poverty.
Given the naturally high costs associated with maternal, neonatal, and child healthcare, the absence of insurance exacerbates socio-economic inequality.
Experts emphasize that achieving Universal Health Coverage will remain elusive unless the government introduces affordable national health insurance schemes, expands social safety nets, curbs sector corruption, and enhances administrative efficiency in healthcare delivery.