World Health Organization
منظمة الصحة العالمية
Organisation mondiale de la Santé

Assuring effective health governance, public health legislation, financing and institutional support

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Operational definition

Governance

Governance includes evidence-based policy development that informs decision-making on issues related to public health by upholding the key governance principles of fairness, accountability, transparency and participation. The subsequent strategic planning process should operationally define the vision, mission, measurable health goals and public health activities for national, regional and local levels. Moreover, it has become more important to assess the implication of international health developments on national health status.

Public health legislation

Public health legislation includes the institutional capacity to formulate health legislation, especially public health laws and regulations that enable actions to prevent disease, and protect and promote public health by ensuring proper, consistent and timely compliance with the regulatory and enforcement frameworks.

Institutional support

Institutional support implies ensuring that effective organizational structures and mechanisms are in place to ensure effective delivery of health promotion, disease prevention and health protection interventions. 

Financing and resource allocation

Financing and resource allocation is concerned with the collection, pooling, allocation of resources, purchasing and procurement mechanisms to cover population health needs. This also includes innovative financing mechanisms like sin-tax, airline ticket tax, and Tobin tax. Comprehensive public financing should be the norm for proven cost-effective population-based as well as personal services with broad effects beyond the person [externalities] receiving the intervention. 

Scope of the function

Governance

Participatory healthy public policy based on health in all policies (HiAPs) concept

Cross-sectoral planning process

Consideration of international health developments

Definition of responsibilities for implementation

Structural, process and outcome indicators linked to time-based targets

Public health legislation

Institutional support

Financing and resource allocation

Assessment of essential public health functions in countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region