The provision of free medication to combat hypertension has already begun, but ensuring its availability across all healthcare facilities at the grassroots level is crucial to effectively reduce hypertension-related non-communicable diseases and deaths.

At the same time, sustainable funding is required for an uninterrupted supply of the medicine, experts said at a virtual workshop for journalists on Saturday.

The prevalence of hypertension is rising alarmingly in Bangladesh, with fewer than one in seven individuals with hypertension successfully managing their condition, they added at the workshop titled “Hypertension Control in Bangladesh: Progress and the Way Forward”, organised by the research and advocacy organisation PROGGA (Knowledge for Progress) with support from the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI). During the session, it was also revealed that one in four adults in Bangladesh suffers from hypertension, a major risk factor for various non-communicable diseases, including heart disease, stroke, cancer, kidney disease, respiratory diseases, and diabetes.

Experts stressed that making anti-hypertensive medication widely available at the grassroots level, coupled with increased funding, could effectively reduce hypertension-related complications, such as heart attacks and strokes, ultimately saving lives.