VIEW FROM THE SECRETARY-GENERAL
PUBLIC HEALTH AND PARLIAMENT
One of the major public policy challenges in the past two decades has been that of public health. Since the 1990s, governments and legislators have debated extensively on how to enable ordinary people to access health facilities, how to apportion annual budgets for health services, and how to regulate the health industry for the benefit of the majority. In 1990, the international community came up with eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), three of which were dedicated to public health issues. These were: reducing child mortality; improving maternal health; and combatting HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. Historically, the development of public policy has largely depended on what and how governments decide to extend services to the people. In democratic societies, it is expected that the people’s representatives will always promote policies to improve the welfare of the majority of the citizens. This means, using the health sector as an
Dr William F. Shija Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association
example, that the policy framework to maximize people’s welfare would require careful legislation regarding the health practitioners (doctors, nurses, pharmacists, etc.); health infrastructure (hospital buildings, machinery); health financing; and health delivery systems (maternal, children, elderly, referral). At international levels, these health policy characteristics have enabled the world community to pull together human, scientific and other resources to combat the effects of Tuberculosis (TB), Smallpox, Leprosy and other major epidemics. I believe that it is the same policy concerns which led the current U.S. administration to develop what is now known as “Obamacare”.
In this view, I am drawing up the attention of legislators to be highly vigilant in shaping health policy because, besides education, health is a highly essential and personal need that individuals largely rely on others for survival. With regard to health practitioners, Parliamentarians are constantly
The Secretary-General’s
Dr William F. Shija presenting a gift to Deputy Mike O’Hara of Guernsey (right).
242 | The Parliamentarian | 2013: Issue Four
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