Afghanistan Afghan Public Health Institute Strategic Plan - ianphi

Lack of well trained and Insufficient number of professional staff in Environmental HealthLow public awareness of environmental health issues and their relationship to death and illnessLimited data and regulationsLack of licensing of food handling and food service outlets such as restaurants and cafeteriasLack of policies, standards and regulations to protect workers “on the job”Lack of capacity in occupational health and safetyInsufficient coordination among relevant stakeholders“Creating Supportive Environments” is one of the key strategies identified at the First International Conferenceon Health Promotion to take action to improve population health.“The inextricable links between people and their environment constitutes the basis for a socio‐ ecologicalapproach to health. The overall guiding principle for the world, nations, regions and communities alike, isthe need to encourage reciprocal maintenance ‐ to take care of each other, our communities and ournatural environment. …Changing patterns of life, work and leisure have a significant impact on health. Work and leisure should be a sourceof health for people. The way society organizes work should help create a healthy society. Health promotiongenerates living and working conditions that are safe, stimulating, satisfying and enjoyable (Ottawa Charter forHealth Promotion, 1986, pp. 2‐3).MoPH recognizes the urgent need to address environmental health in general and also occupational health andsafety within workplaces in Afghanistan. Two priority areas for action include: advocating for and supporting theavailability of safe drinking water and improved hygiene (e.g. handwashing) and sanitation that have beenshown internationally to reduce death and illness.Strategic Objective 1 (SO‐1): To strengthen the stewardship role of MoPH in relation to EnvironmentalHealth by developing regulations and clarifying roles and responsibilities under the EnvironmentalHealth programPriority Interventions:Develop a comprehensive strategy/strategic plan for National Environmental Health (NEH) thatincludes a practical monitoring and evaluation frameworkMobilize resourcesDevelop regulations with associated roles and responsibilitiesDevelop a mechanism for enforcement of the regulationsDevelop an implementation plan that includes effective monitoring and evaluationBuild the capacity of MoPH management and staff related to environmental healthStrategic Objective 2 (SO‐2): To advocate for increased availability of safe drinking water in order toreduce the burden of disease from contaminated waterPriority Interventions:Ministry of Public Health Strategic Plan, 2011‐201544