Acting Health Minister Abu Janah discusses the “Reform and Development of the Health System in Libya” project

The Deputy Prime Minister of the Tripoli-based Libyan government and current Acting Minister of Health, Ramadan Abu Janah, attended a meeting in Tripoli Sunday held by experts in the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) to present the project “Reform and Development of the Health System in Libya”. The NESDB is a thinktank formerly headed by the late Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril. The meeting was in the presence of the Council’s Chairman, Mahmoud Al Futaisi, officials of the Ministry of Health, and experts in the health sector.

The NESDB’s Health System Reform and Development Team reviewed ways to enhance the availability of medical services to Libyan citizens within the comprehensive health coverage initiative, by identifying the characteristics of successful health systems, represented in having a long-term vision and strategies.

The reform would also seek to build consensus at the societal level, and allow flexibility and independence in decision making, as well as flexibility in learning from experience and feedback into the health policy-making loop, support from the broader governance system, from the socio-economic context and in line with cultural and population preferences.

For his part, Minister Abu Janah affirmed his support for the efforts of experts in reforming and developing the health system in Libya, and achieving comprehensive development of the health sector, in order to improve the health status of citizens and develop primary health care mechanisms.

Abu Janah expressed his government’s keenness to enhance the availability of health services coverage for citizens, by involving all parties and institutions concerned with reforming the health sector.

During the meeting, Professor of Health Policies and Strategies, Dr. Adel Al-Tajouri, gave a visual presentation of the “Health Promotion in the South” project, which aims to achieve an effective and appropriate quality level of health care in the southern health region, which will be funded through the public health insurance subscription system.

Aim to locally treat 90 percent of high cost cases and reduce overseas treatment by 30 percent
The objectives of the project “Reform and Development of the Health System in Libya” are to provide service to approximately 90% of cases suffering from diseases that require high costs of treatment, as well as to reduce treatment expenses abroad by 30% within one year from the start of the reform portfolio, as well as to localize one intervention from each specialty within the first year of starting the reform portfolio.