The impact of war on the country's health sector

The ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel is creating serious challenges for Bangladesh’s health sector. The main problems are disruptions to supply chains, rising prices of medicines, and broader economic difficulties. The war, along with attacks near the Strait of Hormuz, is threatening the import of active pharmaceutical ingredients and pushing up the cost of essential medicines.

Bangladesh imports around 90 percent of the active pharmaceutical ingredients it needs to produce medicines. The conflict has already caused major problems with shipping routes. This has led to higher freight costs and delays in bringing in these vital raw materials.

As a result, the cost of manufacturing medicines is increasing because of higher transportation expenses and possible shortages of raw materials. The prices of important ingredients used in common medicines, such as paracetamol and metformin, have already gone up. This means that medicines could become much more expensive for ordinary people in Bangladesh.

The country also depends on imported liquefied natural gas for electricity generation. Since the Middle East is a major energy centre, a long-lasting conflict could cause sharp increases in oil and gas prices. Higher energy costs would affect the production of electricity, which is essential for running hospitals and pharmaceutical factories.

The combination of more expensive medicines and rising fuel costs could make it much harder for low-income families in Bangladesh to afford proper healthcare.

The conflict also puts at risk the stability of Gulf countries, where many Bangladeshis work and send money home. Any disruption to these remittances would reduce household income. Since many families depend on this money to pay for healthcare, their ability to access medical services could be severely affected.

A full-scale war between Iran and Israel would damage the global health system. It could cause serious interruptions in medical supplies, worsen food shortages, and lead to large numbers of refugees. The war is already making it difficult for the World Health Organization to carry out its work in the region and is increasing the risk of disease because of damaged energy supplies and infrastructure.

Attacks on infrastructure in Iran and neighbouring areas could destroy hospitals, clean water systems, and electricity networks. This would create immediate health emergencies and raise the chance of disease outbreaks, with effects that could spread far beyond the region.

The conflict is also causing widespread displacement of people within the Middle East. This puts heavy pressure on local health services and will require large-scale emergency help, including support that may reach Bangladesh.

Rising oil and gas prices would increase the running costs of hospitals worldwide and make medical supplies more expensive everywhere.

In addition, the fighting is making it harder for the World Health Organization to coordinate international health efforts, as security worsens and attention shifts from long-term planning to immediate survival.

Recent reports from organisations such as Think Global Health and Devex show that the Iran-Israel war is becoming not only a regional security problem but also a serious threat to global health. Early signs of trouble can already be seen in supply chains, access to aid, food security, health funding, and the delivery of services to vulnerable countries.

One of the clearest risks in the coming months is further disruption to supply chains. Higher jet fuel prices are putting pressure on airlines, which will raise freight costs and increase the price of medicines. There is particular concern about critical and temperature-sensitive items such as vaccines, insulin, biologics, and cancer treatments.

The World Health Organization has had to suspend its global health emergency hub in Dubai because of insecurity, closed airspace, and restrictions on movement through the Strait of Hormuz. As a result, the delivery of 18 million dollars’ worth of humanitarian health supplies has been stopped, another 8 million dollars’ worth of shipments are delayed, and more than 50 emergency requests from 25 countries have been affected. These include vital items such as polio laboratory equipment. 

The World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the World Food Programme are now looking for alternative routes through other United Nations hubs and over land.

The war is directly threatening the health of ordinary people by interrupting access to routine healthcare, vaccinations, treatment for long-term illnesses, and humanitarian assistance. Disruptions to helium production are also affecting MRI machines.

Shortages of gas are harming fertiliser production and raising transportation costs. This threatens crop yields and increases the danger of hunger and malnutrition in countries that depend on food imports.

At the same time, limited funding for research and development into neglected diseases is being squeezed even further. This will slow down progress on health issues that matter most to low-income countries.

The global health system still relies heavily on a small number of transport routes, aid channels, and emergency supply centres. In short, the war in Iran should be seen not only as a geopolitical crisis but also as a major test for the worldwide health sector. For import-dependent countries such as Bangladesh, the difficulties in the health sector are likely to become even more severe.

Writer: Dr Gholam Shawkat Hossain  is a physician, researcher and author