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ISLAMABAD: The recently launched document of the National Health Vision (NHV) has identified several major issues confronting the health sector and claimed that they will be addressed by 2025.
But some health experts believe that not a single goal can be achieved unless funds are allocated.
The Director General of Ministry of National Health Services, Dr Asad Hafeez, claims that all goals will be achieved as for the first time in the country’s history funding for the health sector has been declared investment instead of expenditure.
The policy
The last Nation Health Policy was announced in 2001. Though efforts were made in 2010 to introduce a new policy, they could not succeed. Recently, the topic of health was included in the Vision 2025 of the Planning Division, but it was dealt with in just a few paragraphs. Therefore, the government decided to introduce a separate NHV.
An official of the ministry said that currently Pakistan was spending 0.5 per cent of its GDP on health and it had been decided to raise the allocation for the sector to 3pc of GDP by 2025.
“Currently, there is no plan about human resources in the health sector as a result there are more doctors than nurses in the country. Therefore, a system will be evolved to produce doctors, nurses, paramedics and other staff as per requirements,” he said.
“At present data of different health departments and the provincial governments is hardly used for decision making. Under the NHV, a national information system will be established to store data and use it,” he said.
“Currently there is no mechanism to regulate what kind of facilities should be provided by primary, secondary and tertiary care hospitals. In the private sector, clinics are established in shops, houses and rooms. In future, service, equipment and staff will be defined for government and private hospitals and clinics,” the official said.
“Though the health sector has been devolved to the provinces, international organisations treat the country as one unit. There are 13 indicators regarding health in the Sustainable Development Goals. The indicators can differ in different provinces but at the international level one indicator will be quoted,” he said.
Monitoring mechanism
Therefore, a monitoring report mechanism has been included in the NHV under which the provincial and federal governments will be bound to table annual health reports in assemblies. With the help of these reports, a holistic picture about the status of public health in the country will emerge.
The document points out that Pakistan is facing a double burden of disease (BoD). The burden is higher among the poor, and many of these conditions can be controlled at relatively low-cost interventions. Communicable diseases, maternal health issues and under-nutrition dominate and constitute about half of the BoD.
“In young children, diarrhoea and respiratory illness remain major killers. Maternal deaths due to preventable causes... are common.
“Vaccine preventable diseases and new emerging infections call for strengthening disease surveillance and response system uniformly across the country,” the document says.
Dr Asad Hafeez said the document had defined federal and provincial health functions. Because of this, responsibilities have been re-arranged. “After 10 years Pakistan will be far ahead and better in the health sector as compared to today.”
But a health expert said the government had announced the last National Health Policy in 2001 but it was not implemented during the next 10 years.
“The ministry should have prepared another document, along with the NHV, to fix responsibility for the failure of implementation of the 2001 policy,” he said, adding: “This time also, allocation of funds will remain a major problem in addressing the health issues.”
Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2016
