Health policy, legislation and ethics

HeaIth Partners International (HPI) has worked closely with a number of state and national governments and ministries of health to develop legislative frameworks and to incorporate health policies and regulations into law.

 

We have identified the following steps required to develop enforceable legislation:

  • An initial review of the country's structural constraints, including international financing agreements and consultation with relevant ministries
  • Development of policy and of enabling legislation
  • Development of regulations to amplify enabling legislation
  • Creation of underlying legal instruments
  • Provision of training to implement legislation.

HPI also works with developing countries in health policy, legislation and ethics to create practical solutions to problems arising from externally-funded biomedical research initiatives. This is an area in which effective legislation and enforcement powers are particularly important. Many developing countries opt for the benefits of research and innovation, only later becoming aware of the long-term consequences, and sometimes substantial costs, they will incur.

 

Some of our projects

 

Background information

The medium and long-term viability of major health programmes in developing countries is often governed by international policies and financing agreements, in conjunction with domestic policies and legislation.

National health policies are often adopted on an ad hoc or informal basis in response to pressure from international donor organisations to, for example, restructure national debt. The result is that policies are often not formally incorporated into legislation and therefore lack legal enforcement.

Enacting policies or programmes without legislation means that they can be rejected by successive governments and there is no medium or long-term protection.