117 CHAPTER SIX how is the Public nterest protected? Governments should be the"stewards"of theirnational resources, maintaining and improving them for the benefit of their populations. In health, this means being ultimately responsible for the careful management of their citizens well- being. Stewardship in health is the very essence of good gouernment. For every country it means establishing the best and fairest health system possible. The health of the people must always be a national priority: govemment responsi bility for it is continuous and permanent. Ministries of health must take on a large part of the stewardship of health systems Health policy and strategies need to cover the private provision of services and private financing, as well as state funding and activities. Only in this way can health systems as a whole be oriented towards achieving goals that are in the public interest. Stewardship encompasses the tasks of defining the vision and direction of health policy, exerting influence through regulation and aduo. cacy,and collecting and using information. At the international level, steward ship means influencing global research and production to meet health goals. It also means providing an evidence base to guide countries'efforts to improve the performance of their health systemsHow is the Public Interest Protected? 117 CHAPTER SIX
ow is the ublic nterest rotected? Governments should be the “stewards” of their national resources, maintaining and improving them for the benefit of their populations. In health, this means being ultimately responsible for the careful management of their citizens’ well￾being. Stewardship in health is the very essence of good government. For every country it means establishing the best and fairest health system possible. The health of the people must always be a national priority: government responsi￾bility for it is continuous and permanent. Ministries of health must take on a large part of the stewardship of health systems. Health policy and strategies need to cover the private provision of services and private financing, as well as state funding and activities. Only in this way can health systems as a whole be oriented towards achieving goals that are in the public interest. Stewardship encompasses the tasks of defining the vision and direction of health policy, exerting influence through regulation and advo￾cacy, and collecting and using information. At the international level, steward￾ship means influencing global research and production to meet health goals. It also means providing an evidence base to guide countries’ efforts to improve the performance of their health systems. 117