Dr. Peter Mwaba

Permanent Secretary

(Ministry of Health, Zambia)

International Launch of the Zambian National Health Strategic Plan ,

2011-2015

7th February 2012, BMA - London

Background to NHSP 2011-2015 The NHSP 2011-2015 is the 5th National Health Strategic

Plan for the Health Sector in Zambia The NHSP was drafted in the context of the Country’s

Sixth National Development Plan 2011-2015 (it is a chapter)

The NHSP process started in 2010 and was a collaborative effort between the Government, Cooperating Partners, The Civil Society and the Private Sector

The NHSP 2011-2015 was officially launched on 26th January 2012 by the Minister of Health

Thematic Themes of NHSP 2011-2015

Service Delivery (District Health Services & Hospital Referral Services)

Human Resources for Health Infrastructure, Equipment and Commodities Health Management Information System Health Care Financing Leadership and Governance

QUALITY OF CARE EMPHASIS

Focus on three Cs of Quality of Care:

CleanCaringCompetent

Legal Framework National Health Services Act of 1995 was repealed Thus the National Health Policy and a New Health

Services Act is underway The PPP Policy and the PPP Act is in place Through statutory Instrument 27, of 2007

Government has declared the health sector as a priority sector.

Organization of the Health System in Zambia

(1) Institutional Set up

National Level: MoH HQs in Lusaka is responsible for overall coordiantion and management of the health sector

Provincial level: Provincial Health Offices (PHOs) are responsible for cordinating health service delivery in their respective provinces

District Level: District Health Offices (DHOs) are responsible for cordinating health service delivery at district level

Community Level: Neighbourhood Health Committees (NHCs) have been established to facilitate linkages between the communities and the health system

Categories Health Facility Categories

Community level: Health Posts and Health Centre

District Level: Level 1 hospitals Provincial Level: Level 2 General

Hospitals National Level: Level 3 Tertiary Hospitals

COLLABORATIVE OPPORTUNITIES AND

AREAS OF SUPPORT IN THE HEALTH SECTOR IN

ZAMBIA

Establishment of Specialist Hospitals (Centres of Excellence)

The non existence of state of the art specialist health facilities has eroded Zambia’s revenue in form of foreign exchange

Many Zambians continue to seek treatment in South Africa, India and other parts of the World at great cost to Government.

The rise in non-communicable diseases that require specialist treatment and Hi-tech medical equipment, inadequacy of infrastructure development to meet the demand and the state of medical equipment in some public health institutions

The slow pace of the existing private health sector to grow and fill the gap in the provision of specialised treatment

Specific Speciality Areas Cardiology Radiotherapy Neurology Urology Traumatology Nephrology & Dialysis Diabetology Dermatology Physiotherapy Key hole surgery Stem Cell Therapy Other surgical interventions

Establishment of Hi-Tech Diagnostic Centres.

Government recognises that most referrals to foreign health facilities are originating from inadequate diagnostic and laboratory equipment to enable our medical personnel perform effectively.

The country has three CT Scan machines and one MRI machine. The establishment of Modern Hi-Tech diagnostic centres is

expected to provide a new face in the delivery of health services in Zambia and mostly attract patients from neighbouring countries, as away of creating revenue to the Zambian economy.

The Ministry Health has plans to set up at least three modern diagnostic centres in Livingstone, Lusaka and Ndola.

Education (Training of Health Personnel) Zambian medical doctors, nurses and paramedics are

highly sought around the world hence the brain drain which has worsened the human resource crisis in the health sector in Zambia.

A continued production of this highly sought cadre for the health sector in Zambia but also become a source of income through well arranged agreements with user countries.

Government has prioritised scaling up of production of human resources e.g. a construction of a high-production national training centre will start in 2012

Education (Training of health Personnel)

Currently Zambia has only two public medical schools (one just started in 2011) and over 20 public nursing schools.

The private sector is slowly responding - two medical schools have been set up by the private sector in the recent past

Telemedicine In the face of a problem of inadequacy of human

resources for health, the establishment of an efficient Telemedicine system in Zambia will provide an opportunity for many Zambians to access specialist services even in their far remote areas.

As far as 2003, the Ministry of Health has been studying ways of establishing telemedicine on a pilot basis at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH).

A joint effort by the private sector with Government will make this project possible and Government should buy into these specialised IT services for health service delivery.

Pharmaceuticals There are only about 7 Manufacturing

Companies in Zambia. Most of these Manufacturing Companies

are engaged in the Manufacturing of Basic Pharmaceutical Formulations (Medicines).

The Majority of Drugs required under the Essential Drug List is still being imported.

Manufacture of pharmaceutical products is an area of collaboration and support

Overall There are many opportunities in the health

sector for partners and investors to participate The recently launched NHSP 2011-2015

provides a framework for any support, collaboration and investment in the health sector in Zambia

There are other more specific documents that go into detail in specific programmes such as Human Resources, TB, Malaria, HIV/AIDS, etc

The Plan is not cast in concrete but is a rolling plan with annual budgets and action plans

END