Wanted a policy change

The new Health Minister has started work in earnest. He has identified two issues that have to be addressed with utmost urgency. They are drug shortages and dengue menace. We agree with the Minister that they are priorities.

The Minister has also taken a vital decision to institute Workers Advisory Councils (WAC), a concept proposed and even tried out in the 1970s by the then United Front Government. By establishing Workers Advisory Councils it would be possible to get their cooperation for smooth functioning of the administration.

Also as employees with a stake in running the institutions under the Ministry profitably and efficiently the WACs would be of immense help in reducing wastage and corruption. However, much would depend on the personnel that would be elected or nominated to these Councils. Obviously elected WACs would be a better choice.

It has been seen from experience of the immediate past that many problems in the health sector are results of faulty administration. The multiplicity of trade unions and their rivalries have also contributed to many instances of negligence and maladministration. It was said a few months ago that disciplinary action could not be taken against certain health employees whose negligence caused a death of a schoolgirl after administering a vaccine at Matara due to interference of trade unions.

While addressing drug shortages and dengue epidemics which are necessary priority items in the short term it is necessary to make a strategic change in the policy orientation of the Health Ministry. The traditional emphasis has been given to curative medicine over preventive medicine. It is time to reverse the order of priorities.

It is far better to give priority to preventive medicine over curative medicine. It has been shown to be more cost effective too.

This is urgent since non-communicable diseases are becoming killer Number One at the moment. Among them Diabetes and Cardio-vascular diseases take priority. All such diseases are preventable and curable or manageable.

Much could change if dietary habits are changed and sedentary lifestyle is changed to an active lifestyle. Hence public awareness is key to controlling these killer diseases. Medical opinion is that fast foods and lack of exercise are principal contributory factors in the spread of such diseases.

Creating public awareness in order to prevent such diseases is a task that could not be handled singly by the Ministry of Health and Nutrition. It needs the participation of all stakeholders. This requires a joint effort by health, education, local government and Provincial Councils, sports administrations. It is also necessary to incorporate the media also in the endeavour.

It is extremely necessary to conduct awareness campaigns in schools and Universities to inculcate healthy food habits and instill the need of regular physical exercises in the minds of persons at an early age. This would guarantee that at least the future generations would be spared much of the suffering that the present generations endure.

The health budget could be used more productively by giving priority to preventive aspects of medicine for it will eliminate the need for curative medicine to a great extent. The saving could be used to develop the physical infrastructure much needed to provide a qualitatively rich and modern health service to the citizens.

A lesson in democracy

The British people have put an end to the much praised model of democracy - the two party system. The general elections last week had resulted in a hung parliament. Neither the incumbent ruling party the Labour or the leading Opposition party- the Conservatives could form a government on their own. The Opposition is holding talks to form a coalition.

Though any countries in the West and the East had experimented successfully with coalitions the traditional British voters have always preferred the two-party system. The election result thus shows the electorate’s displeasure over the conduct of both key parties in British politics. The Liberals have proved themselves to be a voice that must be counted.

However, the differences between the policies of all three parties are wafer thin. Hence, there would be a possibility of a coalition. Though differences remain vis-a-vis relations with the EU a coalition would take over power sooner or later. It will, of course, have instability as a congenital defect.

It would be interesting to observe how the Mother of Parliaments would behave in the coming years. Perhaps there may be a lesson or two we could learn from it or it could learn from us.