New Health policy in Pakistan

The government is working on new health policy in Pakistan. It is encouraging to learn that but little is known about the government’s strategy and one can only hope that all stakeholders are consulted and taken on board. That alone will ensure the successful implementation of the new policy.
It is the need of hour that government should widely take into confident the stake holders, therefore one can recommend to the government that they should put new draft health policy on ministry’s website and send a copy Pakistan Medical Association.

The last health policy that was framed in December 2001 is on paper only. However, it identified the major weaknesses in the health sector very well and could provide a starting point for policymakers. New health problems have now emerged but the basic flaws that need to be addressed have not changed. The health system is too urban oriented and neglects the bulk of the population that lives in the countryside. Financial allocations have been far less and do not provide much scope for expansion and upgrading. There is greater emphasis on tertiary medical
facilities with primary health not receiving enough attention. There is no effective monitoring of the system while the private sector has been given a free rein with no regulatory controls in place, although its role has been growing. Above all, the preventive approach is limited to immunisation strategies with no concept of health being perceived as a sense of wellbeing rather than the absence of disease. This calls for linking health with a lifestyle that makes the government responsible for providing people with potable water, sanitation and a clean environment.