Health Systems in Transition - Hungary - World Health Organization ...

Health systems in transition Hungary 129
A similar reorganization was implemented in the field of food safety. The
rationale behind the changes in this instance was to concentrate the supervision
of the entire food chain – from the production of raw materials to the
consumption of meals – in one authority. The former task of the NPHMOS to
supervise the preparation and consumption of food was relocated to the Central
Agricultural Office under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development 1
(2007/8). The National Institute for Food and Nutrition Science remains under
the NPHMOS, but food inspection duties have been transferred to the Central
Agricultural Office.
Other actors participate in the delivery of public health services, especially
in the primary care sector. For instance, the NPHMOS, through the National
Institute for Epidemiology, plans, directs and coordinates the compulsory
immunization programme and supplies the vaccines through its regional and
subregional offices, and family doctors and the school health services carry
out the actual vaccinations (1998/6). The District MCH Service provides pre-
and postnatal care, as well as prevention and health education for families
and schools, and is coordinated and supervised by senior MCH nurses from
the NPHMOS (1997/10). These well-organized, accessible and good-quality
programmes have likely played a key role in achieving Hungary’s excellent
immunization record.
Other public health services have been less successful, especially health
promotion and other prevention programmes. The NPHP aims at reducing
morbidity and mortality rates for the most important public health problems –
that is, cardiovascular disease and cancer – through a comprehensive action plan,
including health promotion, prevention and screening, as well as improving
health care services in priority areas (2003/1). However, the financial resources
allocated to the implementation of this programme have decreased year by year,
and its budget in 2007 was two-thirds less than in 2003 (Ministry of Health,
2008).
A breast cancer screening programme was established in 2002, whereby
women between 45 and 65 years of age are invited to visit providers with
screening facilities once every two years (1997/17, 2003/8). More than half
a million women, some 41% of all those eligible, participated in programme
during its first year. Participation has, however, remained between 40% and
50% since this time. Screening for cervical cancer was launched in 2003,
whereby women between the ages of 25 and 65 are invited to visit providers
with screening facilities once every three years (2003/8). Participation in this
1 As of 2010 the Ministry of Rural Development.