Ministry of Health today reviewed the national health policy and essential health service package with heads of regional health bureaus and other stakeholders.
Speaking at the event, Dr Amir Aman, Minister of Health, stressed the need for a health policy that took into account the current socio-economic situations of the country.
Dr Amir said his ministry has drafted a new policy to fill the gaps on the existing national policy which was endorsed and came into effect 24 years back.
The newly drafted policy considered the current social and economic situations of the country, ways to prevent non-communicable diseases and related risk factors, he told the participants.
It also included approaches on prevention of natural and manmade disasters and mechanism to provide timely health response, he noted.
The new policy also encourages provision of awareness raising on communicable and non-communicable diseases at all levels as well as integrating modern and traditional medicine, he stated.
The new policy will come into effect once it is enriched with ideas from stakeholders and health officers, according to Dr Amir.