• Alayne M Adams, Tanvir Ahmed, Shams El Arifeen, Timothy G Evans, Tanvir Huda, Laura Reichenbach, and Lancet Bangladesh Team.
• Centre for Equity and Health Systems, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Electronic address: aadams@icddrb.org.
• Lancet. 2013 Dec 21; 382 (9910): 2104-11.

AbstractA post-Millennium Development Goals agenda for health in Bangladesh should be defined to encourage a second generation of health-system innovations under the clarion call of universal health coverage. This agenda should draw on the experience of the first generation of innovations that underlie the country's impressive health achievements and creatively address future health challenges. Central to the reform process will be the development of a multipronged strategic approach that: responds to existing demands in a way that assures affordable, equitable, high-quality health care from a pluralistic health system; anticipates health-care needs in a period of rapid health and social transition; and addresses underlying structural issues that otherwise might hamper progress. A pragmatic reform agenda for achieving universal health coverage in Bangladesh should include development of a long-term national human resources policy and action plan, establishment of a national insurance system, building of an interoperable electronic health information system, investment to strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and creation of a supraministerial council on health. Greater political, financial, and technical investment to implement this reform agenda offers the prospect of a stronger, more resilient, sustainable, and equitable health system. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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