The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has decided to abandon the proposed fifth phase of the Health, Population, and Nutrition Sector Programme (5th HPNSP) to prevent financial mismanagement and redundancy.

According to an official letter sent to various ministries and government agencies, the decision follows seven high-level meetings chaired by Prof Dr Md Sayedur Rahman, special assistant to the chief adviser for the health ministry.

The Tk 1.06 trillion program was designed to support health sector development over the next five years. Tk 806.85 billion will come from domestic resources, and Tk 254.15 billion is expected from foreign loans and grants.

The move marks the end of Bangladesh’s 27-year sector program model in health service development, reverting to a project-based system. To bridge the transition, the government plans to fast-track three new projects over the next two years to maintain essential health services and complete key unfinished tasks from the fourth program, which concluded in June 2024.

Bangladesh introduced sector-based development in 1998 with the Health and Population Sector Programme (HPSP), consolidating 126 projects to streamline coordination and funding. Subsequent programs continued until the fourth phase, which was extended until June 2024.

Despite the sector-wide approach, individual projects have continued to be proposed, creating a dual funding and management structure. Experts, including health economist Dr Syed Abdul Hamid, have warned that this duplication undermines cost-saving objectives.

The revised annual development program for the current fiscal year includes 34 individual health projects worth Tk 418.7 billion, reflecting the shift back to a project-based system.