4 October 2018 – In response to the growing burden posed by noncommunicable diseases, Oman has, with the support of WHO, developed and launched, earlier this year, a 5-year multisectoral action plan for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases 2016-2025, outlining the country roadmap to tackle those conditions through coherent and complementary actions, agreed upon by health and non-health sector representatives forming the National Committee for NCDs.

Addressing the main NCD and related risk factors, the plan is structured around 8 chapters, each subdivided into six strategic action areas: 1) Governance; 2) Community mobilization; (3) Reorienting health services; 4) Building human resources; 5) Partnership; and 6) Monitoring and evaluation.

To further operationalize the plan and move to its implementation, the National Committee for NCDs in coordination with WHO and the Ministry of Health, organized on 19 September 2018, a workshop proposing an approach to cost the national NCD plan.

With the support of a WHO consultant on Health Economics, Dr Osmat Azzam and WHO Regional Adviser for NCD Prevention, Dr Slim Slama, all technical groups involved in the development of the plan undertook a review of planned priority activities, anticipating the costs requirements for the implementation of the NCD plan, during the 5-year period. Drawing on the One Health Tool and using a tailored costing template, all activities to be implemented  at national, provincial and district level, were categorized in terms of cost elements, covering the 8 cost categories.  

Based on that initial exercise, the multisectoral teams continue their work to extract relevant available country data allowing the development of a comprehensive cost estimate of the plan to be presented to the Ministry of health and all other sectors involved in the implementation of the plan.

A detailed report of cost estimation is expected to be finalized by the end of year 2018. The work is led by the Chairman of the National Committee for Prevention and Control of NCDs, HE Dr Ali Al Hinai, Undersecretary of Planning Affairs and the membersof the National Committee Dr Ahmed Al Busaidi and Dr Shaza Al Raisi.  "Bringing all sectors together, the costing exercise gives a deeper understanding for the partners within and beyond heath sector about the interdependence between health and other sectors and the costs involved”, said Dr Akjemal Magtymova, WHO Representative to the Sultanate of Oman. “We look forward to the completion of the joint exercise which will help factor in the costs in the budget planning stage”.