Right to health and social justice in Bangladesh: ethical dilemmas and obligations of state and non-state actors to ensure health for urban poor

Abstract

BackgroundThe world is urbanizing rapidly; more than half the world’s population now lives in urban areas, leading to significant transition in lifestyles and social behaviours globally. While offering many advantages, urban environments also concentrate health risks and introduce health hazards for the poor. In Bangladesh, although many public policies are directed towards equity and protecting people’s rights, these are not comprehensively and inclusively applied in ways that prioritize the health rights of citizens. The country is thus facing many issues that raise moral and ethical concerns.MethodsA narrative literature review was conducted between October 2016 and November 2017 on issues related to social justice, health, and human rights in urban Bangladesh. The key questions discussed here are: i) ethical dilemmas and inclusion of the urban poor to pursue social justice; and ii) the ethical obligations and moral responsibilities of the state and non-state sectors in serving Bangladesh’s urban poor. Using a Rawlsian theory of equality of opportunity to ensure social justice, we identified key health-related ethical issues in the country’s rapidly changing urban landscape, especially among the poor.ResultsWe examined ethical dilemmas in Bangladesh’s health system through the rural–urban divide and the lack of coordination among implementing agencies. The unregulated profusion of the private sector and immoral practices of service providers result in high out-of-pocket expenditures for urban poor, leading to debt and further impoverishment. We also highlight policy and programmatic gaps, as well as entry points for safeguarding the right to health for Bangladeshi citizens.ConclusionsThe urban health system in Bangladesh needs a reform in which state and non-state actors should work together, understanding and acknowledging their moral responsibilities for improving the health of the urban poor by engaging multiple sectors. The social determinants of health should be taken into account when formulating policies and programs to achieve universal health coverage and ensure social justice for the urban poor in Bangladesh.

WITHDRAWN: Health and Human Rights Linkage in Bangladesh: Stakeholders’ views from the grassroots

“…While several studies have delved into the relationship between healthcare and human rights [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13], none examines the knowledge and awareness about the linkage between human rights and healthcare among patients, healthcare providers and members of civil society in Bangladesh. The current study is an attempt to ll this gap.…”

Thoughts About Social Justice

“…Despite these constraints, “it is [all nurses’] duty and obligation to address social justice” (Buettner-Schmidt & Lobo, 2012, p. 955). Each of us must make time to do as much as we can to ensure that all populations have an equal opportunity to experience social justice (Shafique, Bhattacharyya, Anwar, & Adams, 2018). Furthermore, Curtin (2018) underscored the importance of our attention to social justice when she pointed out that the connection between current ongoing U.S. governmental assaults on health insurance policies, such as on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), and population health is a social justice issue.…”

Healthcare Systems Strengthening in Smaller Cities in Bangladesh: Geospatial Insights From the Municipality of Dinajpur

“… 31 Municipalities in Bangladesh also have the opportunity to assume a proactive approach toward planned urban development especially for the health sector and to ensure health services for all citizens. 32 As this paper argues, the availability of comprehensive information regarding the supply of healthcare services and their distribution across the urban landscape can assist the formulation of evidence-based strategies toward this end. Insights from geospatial data can contribute toward improved urban health service delivery, and even more so when local-level authorities are engaged in using maps to rectify coverage inequities.…”