Life expectancy at birth predicts how long a newborn baby is expected to live. Obviously, such predictability in large measure depends on the overall health condition of the population in question. Admittedly, the healthier a population is the greater the possibility of longer lives for its newborns. So, what is Bangladesh's status in this respect at the moment? Going by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS)'s latest data made public on Tuesday last, in 2023, the average life expectancy of Bangladeshis dropped to 72.3 years, down by 0.1 years from 72.4 years in the previous year. That means in 2023, the longevity of a newborn was shortened by 1.2 months compared to 2022. Though the country's chief statistical agency, BBS, did not explain what has led to this decline in the population's average life expectancy in Bangladesh within the span of a year, it is not hard to imagine why it has been so.
Of the factors that work behind the increase or decrease in the average longevity of a population, the quality of the food it consumes is a determining one. Other issues include the access of the population under consideration to health services provided by the government through public hospitals, health complexes and so on. Now with only US$58 per capita health expenditure in Bangladesh (according to World Bank data), of which 75 per cent is out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditure (that is, borne by the citizens themselves), it is not hard to understand how far the public can afford the cost under the present circumstances.
Alongside health issues, the intake of nutritious diets is an important criterion for a population to keep healthy. But given the sharp rise in the cost of living, thanks to soaring inflation, which remained above 9.0 per cent since March, 2023 and the food inflation witnessing a still higher rate peaking at 12.56 per cent in October of the same year, the highest in a decade till that time, it is no surprise that the common people found it beyond their means to afford healthy diet. To make matters worse, far from cooling down, the inflationary trend, especially of food, has been spiralling upwards since, crossing 14 per cent last month--- a record high in 13 years. But beyond official statistics, which are just abstract figures on paper, the facts on the ground, were harsher. The low income people, who comprise the overwhelming majority of the population, have been skimping on their daily diets just to make ends meet. In fact, what the common consumers have been coming up against in the kitchen market was quite different from what the official statistical agency was providing and on which other agencies, government or otherwise, depend to plan their policies or conduct researches. The end result, as expected, was a further pauperised population compromising on their dietary quality just to survive. In such a situation, one wonders, if the existing official data based on which the latest average life expectancy has been determined was foolproof!
Be that as it may, the very report that the average life expectancy has fallen is undoubtedly a bitter truth staring in the nation's face. Against this backdrop, the topmost priority before the incumbent interim government would be to arrest the galloping inflation so the common consumers can afford the food they need to remain at least productive, if not very healthy. The government also needs to have accurate data on the nation's vital statistics for demographic planning.
© 2024 - All Rights with The Financial Express
