Youthonomics, the monthly essay writing competition for the youth, organized by SANEM, has become a platform for young intellectuals for academic and policy discussions and debates. Through Youthonomics, SANEM encourages young writers to voice their views and opinions on socio-economic issues. SANEM awards prize money and certificates to the winners of each episode of Youthonomics. SANEM believes that engaging the youth in an intellectual and academic discussion is essential for developing a more informed and rational society.

The 11th episode of Youthonomics was held in July 2020. The topic of Youthonomics-11 was “Health Sector of Bangladesh”. Participants presented their thoughts, views, and suggestions on the present scenario of the health sector in Bangladesh, upcoming challenges to be faced by this sector and feasible ways to overcome it in their respective articles. They also presented analysis of socio-economic dimensions and multi-disciplinary viewpoints.The development of the health sector is crucial for the overall development and progress of any country. The positive externalities of accessible and affordable healthcare have far-reaching consequences, just as much as negative externalities of a dysfunctional and substandard healthcare. Policymakers, economists, and public health experts around the world agree that health sectors in developing countries should receive extra attention. However, despite many achievements in its development pathway, https://dietitianlavleen.com/where-to-get-ambien/ Bangladesh is not an ideal case when it comes to its health sector. The country has lagged in the formulation of policies required to respond to challenges of public health. The plans which were outlined were often not followed through. The overall health structure suffers from the low budget allocation, systematic issues and mismanagement, while rent-seeking and corruption have been rampant. As a result, in Bangladesh, hospital bed per 1000 people is 0.8, public health expenditure in the percentage of GDP is only 0.4% and out of pocket expenditure in the percentage of total health expenditure is 74%. The repercussions of almost half a century of negligence have never been felt so profoundly. The COVID-19 pandemic has utterly overturned the public confidence in the health system. Both public and private healthcare services are in extremely vulnerable positions, putting the lives of both patients and health workers in danger. It is now being realized in all quarters, that there can be no alternative to the improvement of the health sector with special focus to ensuring accessibility, expansion of capacity, development of human capital, research, and technology.

The winners of episode 11 were:

• 1st place: Rahnuma Binte Rashed, Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka

• 2nd place: Ishrat Jahan Holy, Department of Organization Strategy & Leadership, University of Dhaka

• 3rd place: Sakif Al Ehsan Khan, Department of Public Administration, University of Dhaka