Health policy to be placed in JS, finally
The long-awaited National Health Policy 2010 might at last be placed in parliament next month, said health ministry sources.
Since independence, successive governments took steps to formulate a policy to run the health sector properly and efficiently. But to date, there has not been one.
A draft policy was first drawn up in 1990.It went through reforms under different governments, but has yet to be finalised and put in operation.
"The main objective of a national health policy is to ensure basic healthcare to everyone," said Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury, one of the members of the health policy committee of 1990.
"The policy is just an operational plan to explain how the health services would be provided and what would be the expenditure," he added.
Chowdhury lamented that the country could not have a health policy even in 40 years into independence.
The present government formed a 43-member national committee on July 11 last year to formulate and implement a health policy. Later, a working committee was formed with the core members of the national committee.
On December 5, the working committee met and had the draft vetted.
Insiders say the committee might tweak the draft and firm it up at its next meeting late this month.
After that, the national committee headed by Health Minister Prof AFM Ruhal Haque would approve the policy.
Soon after taking charge, the health minister said the policy would be finalised within three months. But the work to that end was hampered by repeated changes in the committee.
The desk concerned of the health ministry sent the draft policy to the health minister in February last year. It was made available in the ministry's website for public opinions in June that year.
Three divisional workshops were also held in this regard.
On January 13 this year, the primary draft finalisation committee headed by Prof Khondoker Mohammad Shefayetullah, acting director general of the Directorate General of Health Services, incorporated some opinions and recommendations in the proposed policy.
In May, Bangladesh Medical Association was made one of the stakeholders in shaping and implementing the policy following complaints that doctors' professional organisations were not given due importance.
HISTORY OF THE POLICY
The first move towards a health policy was made by the Ershad regime in 1990. But the policy that was passed in parliament during the autocratic rule met stiff opposition. Later, caretaker government chief Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed cancelled the policy by dint of his presidential power.
In 1991, BNP came to power and pledged to formulate a health policy afresh. But it failed to come up with any such document. Awami League government started working on a policy in 1998 and had it approved in parliament in 2000.
But the BNP-led four-party alliance, which formed government in 2001, did not implement that policy; it rather prepared another draft, said Prof Rashid E Mahbub, former president of BMA and member of the present working committee.
DRAFT POLICY 2010 -- FEATURES AND CRITICISMS
The draft National Health Policy 2010, which was distributed among different stakeholders for their feedback earlier this year, lacks vision, say experts.
The policy should have a time limit for achieving different targets and draw a picture of future health service system, the experts add.
Health Minister Ruhal Haque, however, said the main purpose of the health policy is to increase access to health services for people and shape up a sustainable quality service system.
The government wants to give a complete and perfect health policy to the nation and that is why it is taking some more time, the minister added.
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