Afghanistan National Health Policy 2015-2020.

The main policy initiative in this national health policy 2015-2020 of the Ministry of Public Health is one that aims to ensure that there is a balance between downstream health care services and upstream ‘health’. This national health policy is different from past such health policies as it: Highlights the need to ensure a sound balance between health care services which are mainly about treating diseases and other ill health among individuals, with public health that addresses the prevention of ill health among communities, to improve health and well-being for all; Acknowledges the importance of social, economic and environmental determinants of health and the importance of inter-ministerial coordination for multi-sectoral action; Gives a strong affirmation of the political will and commitment to joined up working across the ministry and sectors within a vision and mission that is owned by all; Gives pragmatic policy statements on aspects of governance and institutional development; Confirms a commitment to make the best use of international aid while working towards less dependency on such aid; Emphasises the need for more oversight, monitoring and evaluation of work and the use of results in decision making, development of strategies etc.
Summary of Policy Initiatives 2015-2020: Better balance of health - healthy lifestyles as a result of changing attitudes, perceptions and practices while continuing to reduce the incidence of communicable diseases and the maternal mortality and neonatal death rates; Improving access to, and quality of, basic health services towards universal health coverage while improving tertiary care through private sector involvement and regulation; Changing governance and institutional functioning towards a more effective state ministry; Creating a culture of responsibility, life long learning, zero tolerance to corruption, merit based appointments, evaluation and better working on the social determinants of health; Better controlling the quality of pharmaceuticals and food.
It is the nutrition policy of the Ministry of Public Health to work more closely with other ministries on addressing the key determinants of malnutrition and so contribute to poverty reduction and associated lack of access to food and poor diet. It is also the policy of the Ministry to improve community approaches targeting behavior change for improved nutrition practices. And to better tackle the treatment of acute malnutrition and address chronic malnutrition through a multi-sectoral approach.
The policy of the Ministry of Public Health on emergency preparedness and disaster management is to considerably strengthen its mitigation of, pre-planning for, and response to emergencies and disasters. Communication systems and clear lines of responsibility, coordination and accountability will be the priority for development.