Dynamics of evidence-informed health policy making in Pakistan

Incorporating evidence is fundamental to maintaining the general acceptance and efficiency in public policies. In Pakistan, different actors—local and global—strive to facilitate the development of evidence-informed health policies. Effective involvement however, requires knowledge of the country-context, i.e. knowing the intricacies of how policies are formulated in Pakistan. This study highlights the non-systematic, nearly ad hoc way of developing health policy in the country, overly dominated by political actors. Health advocates need to understand the policy process and the actors involved if they are to identify points of impact where their interaction with policy brings the maximum leverage. Moreover, an environment is needed where generation of data gains the importance it deserves and where capacities are enhanced for communicating and understanding evidence, as well as its incorporation into policy.

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Haq Z, Hafeez A, Zafar S, Ghaffar A. Dynamics of evidence-informed health policy making in Pakistan. Health Policy and Planning. 2017;32(10):1449-1456. doi: 10.1093/heapol/czx128