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| | | Newsflash | | Disclaimer: the text of the Newsflashes has been reproduced in its original, unedited form and may not necessarily reflect Heartfile's policy. | | >>> 46-60 | 31-45 | 16-30 | 1-15 | | No. | Subject | | 15 | Viewpoint 11: Restructuring Basic Health Units in Pakistan [August 22, 2006] | | | Dear Members of the Health Policy Forum,
Please find another viewpoint of the Health Policy Forum relating to the recent efforts underway to restructure basic health units in Pakistan, which was published in the daily on August 6, 2006. The viewpoint can be accessed at http://heartfile.org/viewpoint.htm
I am also enclosing it in its text form in the body of this e mail given that some of you have been experiencing difficulties accessing the web versions.
With regards,
Sania | | | | | 14 | Comments Re: Response to Viewpoint 8 - 9 [August 17, 2006] | | | Dear Members of the Health Policy Forum,
In response to Viewpoint on the Federal Health Budget for 2006/07 ( http://heartfile.org/viewpoint.htm , please find enclosed herewith comments of Dr Shafiquddin, Chief Health Planning; Government of Pakistan. ) “Health budget while being reviewed as a part of the macro-economic framework of the country and analyzed on the percentage share basis of GNP/GDP, should also be analyzed in the context of Development versus Non-Development, Federal versus Provincial and Preventive versus Curative Services. (It is pertinent to note that although we have got access to federal documents on the web-site of Federal Government i.e. Planning Commission and Finance Division. However it is not possible to see the same on the web-site of the provinces.
ii) The last 2 years’ documents when compared to the budget 2006-07 show that although the Development Budget for Health of the Federal Government is showing a consistent increase (more than 25% yearly), the same is not visible on the non-development side and the reason is very obvious viz Federal Government is involved in a very limited way in the provision of service on curative side (it has only 6 major hospitals and some 60 dispensaries). While, it is not the same when we look at the provincial figures i.e. non-development and the development budget are increasing at almost the same constant ratio (8-10% yearly.
iii) Taking the micro-analysis of the Health Sector Development Budget over the past 3 years, it is Rs. 4.6 billion in 2003-04, Rs. 6.5 billion in 2004-05 and Rs. 10.8 billion in 2005-06 considering the overall Federal Development Budget (PSDP) as Rs.160 billion, Rs.202 billion and Rs.272 billion in these 3 years thus having a %age share of 2.8,3.2 and 3.9 in 2005-06.Then,during the current year i.e.2006-07 an allocation of Rs.12.3 billion for health against the total PSDP size of Rs.435 billion thus having a %age share of 2.8 which is again showing a decreasing trend for Health Sector allocation. Allocation for Preventive programme have decreased from 85% in2005 to 56% now(2006-07) because of the increasing investment in hospital services especially cancer treatment centers. The analysis of allocations for six major preventive programmes shows that there is no consistent policy of ensuring increasing or at least stable allocation for these programmes.”
With regards,
Sania | | | | | 13 | Viewpoint 10: Piecemeal doesn’t cure [July 20, 2006] | | | Dear Members of the Health Policy Forum,
Please find enclosed herewith a recent viewpoint of the Health Policy Forum, which appeared in The News International on July the 2nd. Entitled “Playing health with a new stack of cards”, this was carried by the editor in The News International by the name of “Piecemeal doesn’t cure” The context of this relates to the tabling of the Vision 2030 forecast exercise by the Planning Commission of Pakistan. The article was released to bring clarity to the manner in which health needs to be restructured as part of such a planning and forecasting exercise. The viewpoint can be accessed at http://heartfile.org/viewpoint.htm
With regards,
Sania | | | | | 12 | Viewpoint 8 - 9: Budgetary allocations for health in the fiscal budget of 2006-07 [June 30, 2006] | | | Pakistan’s Health Policy Forum has issued two viewpoints relating to the budgetary allocations for health in the Federal Government of Pakistan’s fiscal Budget of 2006-07. One was issued a day prior the Budget release on June 4, 2006 in The News International entitled “Money as Cure” and the other has just been published in the business magazine Blue Chip June issue which featured a cover story on the budget. The Health Policy Forum took the lead in the health sector to offer its views on budgetary health allocations in this popular magazine; the title of the viewpoint was “Budget 2006-07 – an ode to health”. Both these articles have been uploaded on the PHPF website and are accessible through | | | | | 11 | Comments Re: Viewpoints 2 - 7 [June 22, 2006] | | | Dear Members of the Health Policy Forum,
Kindly find enclosed herewith a recent communication from Prof. Franklin White, former chair of the Department of Community Health Sciences at the Aga Khan University in response to the Health Policy Forum’s group message on June 08, 2006 regarding “Viewpoints of the Health Policy Forum”.
Best regards,
Sania
-----Original Message-----
From: Pacific Health & Development Sciences [mailto:pacificsci@shaw.ca]
Sent: Friday, June 09, 2006 8:42 AM
To: Sania Nishtar
Subject: COMMENTS Re: Viewpoints of the Health Policy Forum
Dear Sania:
Thank you for bringing the developing set of policy papers to my attention (and the attention of others in the Forum) in such a convenient package. I had already read some, but not all, but this was a good way to review the progress of this effort.
You are to be congratulated for the development of such well-focused pieces, which (being also short) should fit the attention span of many politicians and senior bureaucrats, and most general readers. That's quite an accomplishment!
Much more to the point, the level of analysis is consistently good and definitely highly relevant to the Pakistani agenda. Many of the topics are politically sensitive, and by delinking what are often overlapping issues, you have found a way of minimizing the potential for negative reactions from some quarters, as you build the case for steady reform, which is a long term process.
I can well understand that you would like others to contribute, as I suspect that you need a break at least once in a while; it may be difficult to sustain this approximately monthly monthly flow of high quality commentary. Now speaking personally, I am not ready to contribute myself, largely due to the newness of my CIDA monitoring role. However, I will keep this possibility in mind.
In the meantime, well done with all of this! While I have been largely silent lately, I am following your efforts with interest.
Regards.
Frank | | | | | 10 | Viewpoint 2 - 7: for titles see [June 08, 2006] | | | Dear members of the Health Policy Forum,
Kindly note that the Health Policy Forum/Think Tank has regularly started posting viewpoints on contemporary health issues in major national papers; these are accessible at
I would like to invite contributions to this theme of the Health Policy Forum/Think Tank’s scope of work. Those of you who would like to contribute viewpoints related to your scope of work as it cross cuts with the Forum’s objectives are welcome to do so; I welcome expressions of interest so that we can deliberate on this further.
Best regards,
Sania | | | | | 09 | Post-Gateway deliberations of Pakistan’s Health Policy Forum [May 24, 2006] | | | Dear All,
This group message is being sent to all of you involved in organizing the post-gateway deliberations; many thanks indeed for your collaboration in this respect. Up until now I have been in communication with all of you on a one to one basis but perhaps it is best for all of us to know how things have been structured in connection with first post-Gateway rounds of consultations
In this connection, please find enclosed herewith a timetable; I am enclosing the strategic plan once again to show how these activities link with the strategic plan. Some of the consultations have already been held whereas others are in the pipeline and yet others need to be scheduled.
Kindly note that we have already held the roundtables on several subjects and in collaboration with various partners: Technology (Samina Rizwan, Oracle), Nursing (Tasleem Akhtar, Fatima Memorial), Private sector health care in secondary settings (Hamid Jaffar, Murshed Hospital, Karachi); in addition two rounds of provincial roundtables have been held in NWFP (Berndt Appelt and Mohammad Javaid - GTZ and NWFP HSRU) and the first segment of the pharmaceutical roundtables (Riaz Hussain, Jurgen Koening and Farid Khan - Pharma Bureau) has also been organized.
Other consultations in collaboration with other partners have also been scheduled: these have been tagged on the calendar and others are in the pipeline; in this connection correspondence has already begun with Yasmeen Qazi (Packard) for the meeting on population, with Tanya Khan and Shandana Khan (RSPN) for the meting on service delivery in BHUs. And there are verbal commitments from Inam-ul-Haq (World Bank), Malik Mubashir (UHS), Ayaz Kiani (The Network), Nabila Ali (JSI), Saeed Allawalla (PPMA) and Mushtaq Khan (NHPU) for the meetings respectively on Financing, Academic issues, Consumer issues, MCH as a program area, Pharmaceuticals and Governance (I will be in touch with all of you in this list with the meeting templates and other related details etc.
A message on this subject will soon be posted to the members of the policy forum at large and I just wanted to make sure by sending this out that we are all on the same page. As this process is proceeding ahead with a superb partnership spirit; I wish to thank you all one again for your efforts and for your contributions and look forward to a proactive partnership.
With regards,
Sania Nishtar; FRCP, Ph.D | | | | | 08 | Update on Pakistan's Health Policy Forum/think tank [April 21, 2006] | | | Members of the Pakistan's Health Policy Forum,
This communication about Pakistan's Health Policy Forum is being circulated after some weeks given that we have been busy streamlining the processes of the Policy Forum both at an institutional level as well as in relation to strategic planning. I am most thankful to all of you who have contributed to the planning process. Let me take a moment to update you on the processes, so far:
1. Planning meetings of the Health Policy Forum were held on January 30 and 31 and Feb 6 to deliberate on the steps ahead in relation to the operational scope of work of the Forum post-publication of the Gateway Paper and in accordance with the Action Plan of the Forum as stated in its Statement. The minutes of the meeting will be posted on the website by the end of next week.
2. Based upon the planning meetings and electronic inputs by many of you a Strategic Plan was developed for the Forum's scope of activities. This has been uploaded on our website and can be accessible through http://heartfile.org/policy.htm (strategic plan)
3. A donor meeting was held on March the 24th to achieve a consensus on the areas of donor engagement
The minutes of the meeting will be posted on the website by the end of next week.
4. There has been significant progress on many areas of work as outlined in the strategic plan with contributions from several members of the Forum. Another e-mail will shortly follow which will outline areas of progress and the specific roles and responsibilities. In particular we have commenced work on the Gateway Health Policy Scaffold; a series of roundtables are in the pipeline and the first domain based roundtable entitled "the Post-Gateway Policy roundtable on the role of technology in health" is scheduled for tomorrow. This is being held in partnership with Oracle corp - our technology partner in the Policy Forum. More details in relation to this will follow.
5. The fourth outcome as envisaged in the Strategic Plan relates to developing, articulating and appropriately communicating specific policy position/s or Viewpoints in key priority areas on needs-basis through the press and media. Work has already been initialized in this direction. Four viewpoints have been issued to date. These are topical and responsive to contemporary health issues and can be accessible through http://heartfile.org/policy.htm (viewpoints ). We will also be e-mailing pdf version of these shortly for your record.
Many thanks for your continued support and cooperation as we now move to this existing phase of the rolling out the Health Policy Forum's activities. I will revert back to you to follow up on the italicized sections of this mail and other postings next week.
With regards,
Sania Nishtar; FRCP, Ph.D | | | | | 07 | Viewpoint 1: Pakistan Medical and Dental Council [February 17, 2006] | | | Please find enclosed herewith the first insertion in the Health Policy Forum print media viewpoint series.
Best regards,
Sania | | | | | 06 | Gateway Paper uploaded on the web[January 28, 2006] | | | Dear Members of the Health Policy Forum,
I am pleased to be informing you that the first publication of Pakistan's Health Policy Forum - the Gateway Paper entitled Pakistan's Health Systems - a Way Forward has been released by the Prime Minister of Pakistan on January 9, 2006. The connotation "Gateway" implies the opening of a new effort to address the pressing health needs of the country. The intent is to articulate the raison d'être for health systems reforms within the country, propose a direction for reforms and emphasize the need for an evidence-based approach to reforms. In doing so, the Paper does not take a prescriptive orientation; instead, it provides a perspective on reforms - a strategic view - which is expected to generate broad-based stakeholder dialogue. Kindly note that the Gateway Paper is now available online from http://heartfile.org/phpfgw.htm
and directly at http://heartfile.org/pdf/phpf-GWP.pdf. We will also be mailing hard copies to all Forum Members.
I wish to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have contributed to this effort and look forward to the inputs of the forum members at large now that we will be moving ahead with the consultative process.
My very best regards,
Sania Nishtar; FRCP, Ph.D
President, Heartfile | | | | | 05 | Policy assessment post October 8 earthquake [Nov 15, 2005] | | | Dear all,
Please find enclosed herewith a draft version of One-Month Post-Quake O8 Health Assessment Report. This report, an assessment of the health-related parameters and recommendations for future policy formulation is linked to the O8 Health Information System - a system set up post quake to collate and interpret health related data from various sources. The system was develop and maintained by the NGO "Heartfile" in response to the devastating earthquake, in collaboration with WHO, UNICEF and the Ministry of Health.
The O8 Health System has been developed and managed under difficult circumstances from resources based in Islamabad and the filed. Notwithstanding, the database provides a comprehensive picture of the magnitude of the health aspects of the earthquake with the acknowledgement that the system does not contain complete data of NWFP and Federal Relief Commission. It is for this reason that the report is being circulated in the draft form so that input received can be incorporated into this report. Comments on the policy recommendations would also be welcome.
This report also being circulated to the members of Pakistan's Health Policy Form (PHPF) for their comments as they are committed to playing an independent role in the formulation of health policies in Pakistan and therefore are envisaged to make a significant contribution in the local public policy development in the health sector. See report
We at Heartfile would appreciate your comments and suggestions to consolidate and improve this report at your convenience but hopefully before Novembers 30th.
Sincerely
Sania Nishtar; FRCP, Ph.D
President, Heartfile | | | | | 04 | Debut Meet of Pakistan's Health Policy Forum - Report [Sep 14, 2005] | | | Many thanks indeed for your support to the Pakistan Health Policy Forum.
I believe you know that the Debut Meet of the Forum has been held with spectacular participation. This is the first time that any such forum achieved broad-based consensus on imperative strategic issues; thanks to your support. We envisage development of a coalition that will advocate for policies geared towards protection and promotion of the health of the country's population.
As the initiative gains momentum, the [Debut] Meeting Report is ready for publication-the draft of which I am enclosing for your review. Should you have any comments, in relation to the manner in which your views have been captured into the report please send them to me or my colleague Dr. Mustafa Sarfaraz who has been copied to this mail. We are also keen on having the views of those members who could not attend the Debut Meet incorporated into this report in order to congregate impressions about the need to have such a forum and would therefore request you for you views at your earliest.
Best regards,
Sania Nishtar; FRCP, Ph.D
President, Heartfile | | | | | 03 | Consensus Statement [Aug 09,2005] | | | Many thanks indeed for your active participation in the Debut of the Health Policy Forum; I am truly grateful to you for your inputs and support and look forward to working with you in the future to take this initiative forward. The idea received unprecedented support; however this also places a huge responsibility on the Forum to deliver; this reiterates the need, for us - as members of the Forum - to capitalize on collective thinking in order to hone the operational plan of the Forum. In the ensuing weeks I will be sending out more details with regard to the steps ahead and the rationale for stated approaches with a view to getting a consensus from the group. The Gateway paper is also in its final states of being drafted and it is envisaged that the first draft will be circulated within the next four weeks. Meanwhile I will appreciate your final comments on the enclosed statement of the Forum, which will now go to print with names of the Forum members. The Forum Statement, which will be released as a Forum Consensus Statement will also display logos of participating organizations. Please let me know if you have any objections to your logo being shown on the statement.
Also enclosed is a press release, which appeared in The News International on August the 8th about the Debut.
Sania Nishtar; FRCP, Ph.D
President, Heartfile | | | | | 02 | Debut meeting invitation [Aug 06,2005] | | | Members of the Health Policy Forum are cordially invited to the Debut Meet on August 6, 2005 in Islamabad Club at 11 am.
Sania Nishtar; FRCP, Ph.D
President, Heartfile | | | | | 01 | Membership invitation [June-August,2005] | | | I am pleased to be writing to you about the creation of Pakistan's Health Policy Forum , which is being established as a voluntary independent non-governmental membership association designed to provide a neutral forum for stakeholder efforts - including those of the civil society and the people - within the health sector in Pakistan. Drawing on its think tank capacity to analyze strategic issues, it is envisaged to offer evidence-based, locally feasible consensus-driven policy solutions, in support of which it will also take an advocacy orientation.
The absence of an ongoing mechanism to foster a dialogue on contemporary health issues has been acutely felt within the country. It is envisaged that the establishment of this mechanism, will not only assist with networking and encourage the proliferation of discussions and offer solutions but will also serve to catalyze change. In addition it will also mainstream the voice and contribution of the civil society and the people into the health policy process.
Members of this Forum include public sector establishments, international bilateral and multilateral agencies, civil society organizations and individuals . Through this letter, I have the privilege of requesting the participation of your organization an Organizational Member on the Forum and request you to be the organizational representative in person. The enclosed Statement of the Forum articulates the terms of membership as well its strategic and operational parameters.
Best regards
Sania Nishtar; FRCP, Ph.D
President, Heartfile | | | >>> 46-60 | 31-45 | 16-30 | 1-15 | |
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