Home

Health Ministry's Tasks and Responsibilities:

The Medical Services Department was established historically as an administration whose main responsibility was to preserve the citizens' general health through controlling epidemic diseases and preventing their spread. This was represented in the issuance of the public healths act for 1912 and which was amended for several times during 1924-1935 and then recently in 1975 and 1978.

The department was also responsible of preserving the citizens' health form dangers of the medical drugs, poisons and drugs. This was reflected in the issuance of the pharmaceutical and poisons act for the year 1939 and which was amended in 1983.

In 1948 the medical services department was transformed into the Ministry of Health with the same previous tasks. Then it started developing to provide basic treatment and preventive services to the citizens.

With the issuance of the local governments' act for 1951 and which was followed by the act of the provinces' administration for the year 1960, most of the health ministry's powers were transferred to the provinces in implementation of the decentralization policy.

In 1971, the tasks of the health ministry were specified and its structure was reorganized to include, in addition to an underscretary, six other general administrations and departments with branch administrations.

In 1979, decision of the popular and executive councils was issued, after which the tasks of the central ministries were redistributed. Then in 1980 the regional government act was issued and then the act of the local popular government in 1981, when the authorities of the health ministry were reformulated.

Currently, the actual tasks of the health ministry can be summed up in the following :

1. Setting up the general policy, plans and programmes in the fields of preventive, treatment, social and occupational medicine within the        context of the state's general policies.

2. Setting up the national drugs policy, and controlling use of medicines and carrying out of medical experiments on humans.

3. The central supervision on the safety and quality of food products and setting of the measures and standards in this concern.

4. Planning and fairly distributing the medical services among the regions.

5. Setting levels and standards for the various health services and for the institutions of training the assisting health cadres in both the          public and private sectors.

6. The central supervision on environment contaminants, observing them and protecting humans, animals and environment from their          health impacts.

7. Working for preparing, qualifying, training and developing enough occupational, technical and assisting cadres to meet the needs of the        medical services, and cooperating with the concerned authorities in this regard in accordance with the set plans, programmes and         measures.

8. Monitoring the epidemic and endemic diseases, and working for their control.

9. Supervising implementation of the international health laws and regulations and the health quarantine procedures, besides administering      the quarantines.

10. Setting regulations and works of the health and vital statistics, besides collecting data on the health and vital statistics, analysing,           distributing and keeping them.

11. Listing, providing, storing and distributing of medicines, pandages, materials, cleansers, pesticides and health or medical supplies.

12. Contacting regional and international health organizations and dealing with them according to the state's stated policy in this field.

13. Administering of unified lists for all the physicians, dentists, pharmacists, technicians and specialists in the various health and medical         fields, providing the regions with the appropriate numbers of them and moving the assisting cadres gradually and finally to the regions.

14. Conducting field and laboratory medical research, surveys and studies and within the central units.

15. Managing the central laboratories and other national laboratories.

16. Administering hospitals or any other national health units.