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Hindi Review Article
Emerging Challenges and Health System Capacity: The Case of Non- Communicable Diseases in Pakistan; a Review
| Mubashir zafar1* and Ashar Malik2 | ||
| 1Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, Pakistan | ||
| 2Department of Community Health Sciences, Agha Khan University, Pakistan | ||
| Corresponding Author : | Mubashir Zafar Dow University of Health Sciences Karachi, Pakistan Tel: +92 3332306287 E-mail: mubashirzafar900@gmail.com |
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| Received December 13, 2013; Accepted January 20, 2014; Published January 27, 2014 | ||
| Citation: Zafar M, Malik A (2014) Emerging Challenges and Health System Capacity: The Case of Non-Communicable Diseases in Pakistan; a Review. J Infect Dis Ther 2:127. doi: 10.4172/2332-0877.1000127 | ||
| Copyright: © 2014 Zafar M, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. | ||
Related article at Pubmed Scholar Google |
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Abstract
Background: Pakistan is facing double burden of disease and the contribution of mortality by non-communicable diseases has over numbered the communicable diseases. The focus of health system of Pakistan is inclined more towards communicable disease and maternal & child health. Therefore, there is a need to review health policy, health sector budgeting and health setup in order to meet the needs of healthcare in context of non-communicable disease.
Objective: To review the health system capacity to manage the emerging challenge of non-communicable diseases in Pakistan.
Methodology: A thorough literature search on PubMed and Google Scholar was done. Reports from W.H.O, other national and international organizations and government & non-government policy papers were also reviewed. We used following search terms; Non Communicable Disease, Health system capacity, Pakistan.
Results: Several health system issues emerged through the review of the health system capacity for NCDs. These included lack of political commitment, services more focused on communicable disease and MNCH, inadequate human resources, lack of inter-sectoral approach, insufficient funding opportunities and fragmented health system. These issues can be addressed through government support for combating burden of NCDs, provision of services for NCD at PHC level, human resource training regarding NCDs and integrated care system. Finance should be allocated for NCDs and existing HMIS should also be used for utilizing information regarding NCDs.
Conclusion: Health systems framework to NCD means in summary re-examining the planning and organization of the entire health system, from service provision to financing, from information generation to ensuring adequate supply of pharmaceuticals/technologies or human resources, from improving facility management to performance monitoring.
