Tuberculosis and health sector reform in Bangladesh

In 1998 the Government of Bangladesh changed its health and population sector strategy from a project-oriented approach (the Fourth Population and Health Project--FPHP) to sector-wide management (the Fifth Health and Population Sector Programme--HPSP). This article describes the development and achievements of the tuberculosis programme during the FPHP, and discusses the potential opportunities and challenges anticipated by the programme from the reformed health service delivery of the HPSP. 'Further strengthening of tuberculosis and leprosy control services' was one of the 66 projects of the FPHP. As part of the FPHP, the National Tuberculosis Programme policy was revised in 1992 and the project was implemented in phases. By mid 1998, 90% of the population was covered, and more than 200,000 tuberculosis cases had been diagnosed and treated with 80% success. We describe the reasons for this success and analyse the pitfalls of the project. The objective of the reforms in HPSP is to provide cost-effective, sustainable, quality services to those in need through an essential service package that includes control of communicable diseases such as tuberculosis and leprosy. Tuberculosis services will become more accessible as community clinics deliver essential health services for every 6000 population. Non-public health care providers, who contribute significantly to health services in the country, will be involved in service delivery. The main challenge is to maintain the quality of successful projects, such as tuberculosis control, during the transition period.