National Health Policy 2007.

The National Health Policy is a national policy with a cross-sectoral approach. The objective of the Policy is to ensure a healthy nation through equal access to health, populations and nutrition services.
Health and nutritional status of the population will be improved with a gender-sensitive approach by adopting a healthy lifestyle, ensuring a healthy and safe environment and improving access to clean water and sanitation, health and nutrition services. Safe water will be provided by (i) strengthening public-private collaboration, (ii) enhancing waste management, (iii) scaling-up the WASH (Water, Sanitation and Health) model in deprived communities, and (iv) strengthening the monitoring of water quality, and (v) promoting new approaches to water use. Health and socio-economic development will be improved through investments in health, water and nutrition. The healthy lifestyles among students will be adopted through the promotion of healthy eating by introducing nutritional education into the school curriculum. Funding for health promotion and nutrition programs will be increased. Specific programs will be developed for the elderly, poor, disadvantaged groups, children under 5 years and adolescents to improve their health status and health care delivery.
The Policy focuses on promoting good health and prevention of diseases through good nutrition, regular physical exercise, recreation, rest and personal hygiene. In order to provide safe food and water, the risk of contamination of food and water will be reduced. Food safety will be ensured by promoting collaboration between Food and Drug Board, Standards Board, Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and police to develop and enforce standards for the production, storage, sale and handling of food and beverages. Collaboration between health and veterinary services will be strengthened in surveillance, prevention and control of zoonotic disease. Legislation will be updated to reinforce health-promoting attitudes and behaviours and protect the environment. A local health industry will be developed to support service delivery and create jobs. The capacity of the health system will be strengthened by investing and mobilizing resources, allocating them equitably and ensuring their efficient utilization as well as developing health sector infrastructure. Health information system will be developed for decision-making, programme development, resource allocation and management of the health sector through research, statistics, information management and deployment of ICT. Surveillance and response to epidemics and emergencies will be strengthened.
The Ministry of Health and its agencies are together responsible for the formulation of health service policies, provision of health services and the regulation of activities in the health sector. The Ministry of Health has the responsibility for monitoring the implementation of all health policies, plans and programs from a sector-wide perspective and therefore take some actions to ensure effective implementation of the health policy. A multi-sectoral Technical Advisory Committee shall be set up to advise the Minister on health and health-related issues. The Policy Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate of the Ministry of Health shall be the Secretariat of the technical advisory committee.