KUALA LUMPUR, June 19 — The Health White Paper (HWP) proposes the creation of a multi-sectoral task force to monitor health key performance indicators (KPIs) across ministries and agencies.
The inter-ministerial “Health in All Policies Task Force” is aimed at monitoring the country’s sustainable development goals (SDGs) and to address the social determinants of health (SDHs).
SDHs, according to the 59-page HWP, covers various levels: individual (genetics, gender, education, work and income, and behaviour and lifestyle); community (housing, the environment, transport, water and sanitation, safety, and social networks); and country (poverty and income inequality, food security, economic development, politics, culture, the natural environment, security, legislation, and human rights).
“The sharing of KPIs and budgets for health projects will be implemented across agencies to strengthen shared responsibility,” said the HWP that was passed by the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
Evaluations on health impact and health allocations will be included in outcome-based budgeting during the annual planning cycle and also in the medium term to connect strategy to action.
“Human resources that support health standards in all ministries and agencies, such as community workers and allied health workers, will be synchronised to deliver health targets together,” said the HWP.
“We will monitor the need for an inter-ministerial Health In All Policies Task Force to coordinate and implement cross-sector policies and programmes related to health, specifically to manage health inequality due to poverty, food security, and education.”
The social determinants of health, as described by the World Health Organization (WHO) are the non-medical factors that influence health outcomes. They are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life.
These forces and systems include economic policies and systems, development agendas, social norms, social policies and political systems.
The Health in All Policies Task Force will also focus on specific aspects like social care, especially management of aged care.
The HWP listed the formation of the inter-ministerial task force, as well as the development of health KPIs and budgets across ministries and agencies, is proposed to begin in the short term of one to five years.
“The Health in All Policies Task Force will also be responsible for developing and gathering ideas about the implementation of incentives and obstacles through regulations or legislation.”
