National Health Vision documents become a reality

Islamabad: With the federal and provincial governments on the same page after consultative efforts spanning more than a year, the Ministry of Health Tuesday shared the broad contours of the draft National Health Vision, which offers a road map to improve the health of all Pakistanis, particularly women and children, through universal access to quality essential health services. The vision document, which was endorsed by all provinces and federating areas, will soon be presented to the Council of Common Interests for final approval.

The document was finalised at the close of a national consultative meeting on the National Health Vision, chaired by Minister of State for Health Saira Afzal Tarar. Provincial ministers and secretaries of health, officials from relevant federal ministries as well as provincial and regional health departments, donor and UN agencies, and the private sector, among others, participated in the meeting.

The media was told that the National Health Vision is in line with Pakistan’s Vision 2025, and within the framework of the post-18th Amendment Constitutional roles and responsibilities. The document has a particular focus on vulnerable groups, and is in consonance with provincial and federal health policy frameworks, post-devolution health sector strategies, and international health treaties, commitments and regulations to which Pakistan is a signatory.

Saira termed the document as “a unified vision to improve the health of people across provinces, yet while ensuring provincial autonomy and diversity. It will help build
coherence between federal and provincial efforts in consolidating progress, learning from experiences, and moving towards universal health coverage.”

The document has eight thematic areas consisting of six building blocks of the health system, with two additional areas of cross-sectoral linkages and global health responsibilities. The aim is to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) resulting in a fairer, more efficient health financing that pools risk and shares healthcare costs equitably across the population. UHC reforms will improve health and provide financial protection of poor and vulnerable populations in particular.

The document also features a monitoring and evaluation mechanism through an Interprovincial Health and Population Council, which will have the responsibility of oversight of implementation of the National Health Vision. It will also endorse reports for presentation to the Parliament on an annual basis. The document has no implementation or action points; this will remain a provincial domain to be handled according to preferences.

The National Health Vision is another name for a national health policy. Pakistan’s last approved health policy dates back to the year 2001; a draft policy prepared nine years later in 2010 fell prey to the ongoing process of devolution. In the absence of a coherent policy, the present government initiated the process for the development of the National Health Vision in mid-2015. Extensive consultations were thereafter held with provincial stakeholders to develop consensus for a common national vision that could also serve as an advocacy tool for enhancing resource mobilisation for the health sector on all fora. The development of a draft document started in January 2016, leading to the allocation of roles and responsibilities.

“Since health is a provincial subject and the provinces have varied needs and expectations regarding health, the document focuses on agreed priorities in health. It depicts the common political aspirations of the provincial and the federal governments,” the media was told. The federal ministry of health will support and facilitate the provinces in implementation of their strategies to ensure that UHC is a reality for all the citizens.