Dhaka, July 15 -- Talks will be meaningless until quality health service is ensured in rural areas, said the health minister as a study showed financial hardship is worsening in the country due to the increase in out-of-pocket health spending.

Around 3.7 per cent of the population, equivalent to 6.13 million people, was pushed below the national poverty line in 2022, while about 61 per cent of people faced financial distress due to hospitalisations, according to the Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2022 (HIES).

"I believe that if I cannot ensure proper health care of the people at the marginal level, no matter how much I sit and give lectures in Dhaka, it will be of no use. I give top priority to improving health care in rural an...