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
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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
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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
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QUALITY OF CARE EMPHASIS
Focus on three Cs of Quality of Care:
Clean
 Caring
 Competent
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Legal Framework
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National Health Services Act of 1995 was repealed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
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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
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COLLABORATIVE
OPPORTUNITIES AND
AREAS OF SUPPORT IN THE
HEALTH SECTOR IN
ZAMBIA
Establishment of Specialist Hospitals
(Centres of Excellence)
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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
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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.
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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)
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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 highproduction national training centre will start in 2012
Education (Training of health
Personnel)
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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
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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
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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
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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