ঢাকাসোমবার , ২৬ অক্টোবর ২০২৬
Child health insurance remains a critically underdeveloped area of protection in Bangladesh even as the country continues to make gains in reducing child mortality and expanding basic health services. The latest Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics shows that 98.4 percent of mothers and children have no health insurance coverage of any kind. Coverage stands at just 0.4 percent for children under five and the same low figure for those aged 5 to 17, while only 0.8 percent of women aged 15 to 49 report any form of health insurance. These numbers underline a stark reality in which nearly every family must rely on personal savings or borrowing when a child falls seriously ill.
Out of pocket spending accounts for roughly 79 percent of total healthcare expenditure in the country, one of the highest rates in South Asia and well above the 30 to 35 percent threshold recommended by the World Health Organization. For many households a single hospital admission for pneumonia, dengue, injury or a congenital condition can wipe out months of income and push families deeper into poverty. Child health insurance is therefore not merely a financial product but a practical tool that can prevent catastrophic spending, encourage timely care seeking and reduce the long term developmental impact of untreated illness.
Commercial insurers have so far shown limited appetite for standalone paediatric products. High claims risk associated with neonatal intensive care, caesarean deliveries and childhood infectious diseases has made underwriters cautious, resulting in higher premiums that remain unaffordable for large sections of the middle and lower income population. Most available coverage comes instead through family floater health plans or optional riders attached to life insurance policies. Companies such as MetLife Bangladesh offer MediCare and Hospital Care benefits that provide daily cash or reimbursement for hospitalisation of the policyholder and eligible dependents, including children. Pragati Life and Green Delta Insurance also market family oriented health packages that can include children, typically covering inpatient treatment, diagnostics, surgery and sometimes limited outpatient or critical illness benefits. Sums insured commonly start from several hundred thousand taka and rise according to the premium paid, often with co payment requirements of 10 to 15 percent.
Government initiatives remain focused more on cash transfers and pilot schemes than on broad based insurance. Programmes such as the Mother and Child Benefit Programme provide modest monthly support to eligible poor mothers, while the Shasthyo Surokhsha Karmasuchi pilot has tested limited inpatient coverage for below poverty line households in selected upazilas. These efforts help the most vulnerable but do not yet constitute a scalable child health insurance system. Experts note that commercial reluctance combined with low public awareness continues to leave the vast majority of children unprotected.
Expanding child health insurance would strengthen household financial resilience and support Bangladesh’s broader goal of universal health coverage. Greater product innovation, clearer regulatory guidance on paediatric risk, and possible public private partnerships could gradually raise the currently negligible coverage rates. Until that happens, most families will continue to face the full financial burden of childhood illness on their own.
