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Improving the health care of citizens requires strengthening the mobilization of the various ministerial departments in the general interest of public health. This is what Abdelhak Saïhi, Minister of Health, said on Tuesday.
During his opening speech at the International Forum on Health in All Policies, under the theme “Health is everyone’s business”, Mr. Saïhi explained that the work carried out by the health sector falls within the framework of welcoming and caring for the sick, but ensured that the well-being and health of citizens require the involvement of other sectors.
He reinforced these remarks by citing in particular the problem of water-borne diseases, diseases due to pollution and those resulting from the ravages of drugs on society, which imperatively requires close coordination with other members of the government.
The minister also underlined the importance of awareness campaigns and health education, the effectiveness of which has been demonstrated on the ground.
He also highlighted the importance of strengthening coordination at the level of hospital structures, noting that “we have always designed our hospitals as citadels marked by compartmentalization between services”. He added that “mechanisms should be designed that allow all services to work in synergy with a single objective, which is that of effective patient care and better accessibility to care.”
Improving the management of establishments is also one of the important aspects of good governance in the sector, assured the minister, who affirmed that “we should readjust our expenses so that management is more effective for the benefit of patients”.
During his intervention, which took place in the presence of the president of the Health Security Agency, Professor Kamel Sanhadji, the president of the National Economic, Social and Environmental Council, Rabia Kherfi, and representatives of the ministries, advisory bodies, civil society actors, Mr. Saihi added that one of the priority challenges to be met is that of improving accessibility to care. He declared that “we are determined to converge all efforts to achieve these objectives. When there is a difficulty, we must quickly detect the bottleneck in the health system and quickly find solutions.”
Thus, concerted efforts are necessary to improve access to quality medical services and to ensure that every citizen benefits from good health care.
In addition, the fight against infectious and non-communicable diseases remains a top priority. Strengthening vaccination programs, promoting healthy lifestyles and effectively managing emerging epidemics are key strategic axes. Algeria faces growing environmental challenges, which have a direct impact on public health, including air pollution, waste management and climate change.
A holistic and collaborative approach is needed to mitigate these risks and promote a healthy environment for all. The forum was organized by the Ministry of Health, the National Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CNESE) as well as the National Health Security Agency (ANSS), with the support of the World Health Organization ( WHO) in Algiers.
It should be noted that this meeting aims to introduce the WHO’s “health in all policies” approach and present it to the different national stakeholders, as well as to exchange experiences between the different sectors concerned, where several Subjects related to road safety, the fight against addictions, the fight against overweight and obesity, as well as the question of healthy cities are addressed. At the end of the meeting, participants will have to propose recommendations to support national public health plans and strategies, with the aim of improving the health of citizens.