Ministry of Health, Royal Government of Bhutan Thimphu: Annual Health Bulletin 2016

The Ministry of Health is pleased to publish the Annual Health Bulletin 2016; the 29th series in its edition. It presents the status of nation’s health and summary of health data and information on morbidity and mortality, patient case loads, health service coverage, health workforce, health infrastructure, health care cost and demographic statistics.

The health information in is an important national asset and cornerstone of our health system. In Bhutan, the need to have dynamic Health Management and Information System (HMIS) is becoming increasingly important for better planning and effective use of resources in the light of emerging challenges such as epidemiological transition, rising cost of health care, shrinking donor support and shift of focus of development partners on knowledge management. To this end, the ministry has been putting its best effort to strengthen the existing HMIS despite daunting challenges of inadequate ICT infrastructure and connectivity issues in the country.