KARACHI: The Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah has said that PPP Govt giving more importance to the Health sector and has allocated more than Rs43 Billion to the Provincial Health Department to ensure maximum but better Health Services to the people of Sindh. He stressed to bring available infrastructure of primary Health care to an optimum level of performance and demonstrate more efficient use of the available human and financial resources for the betterment of ailing people.
He expressed his satisfaction on the performance of the PPHI Sindh working in the Health Sector and simultaneously stressed upon its management to converted its more Basic Health Units into BHU plus scheme to have Labour room, baby Breathing Corner and working round the clock specially at the Far Flung Areas like desert area Tharparkar so that Primary Health Care Facilities to the people could be ensured even in odd hours and child mortality ratio can be minimized. This he said while addressing 332 Ice lined Refrigerators (ILR) distribution ceremony arranged by the management of PPHI at Local Hotel today. Addressing the Ceremony, the Chief Minister Sindh said that though Sindh Govt has did lot of work to bring improvement into the public Health Facilities and to ensure the efficient deliveries of Health Services to the people of Sindh but still there was room of improvement for the betterment of poor people. He said that at initial stage, some people were opposing the PPHI but today it has rendered marvelous performance in the Health Sector so far the primary Health Care is concerned.
He said that PPHI has performed well in Distt Tharparkar but still there is need to expedite its efforts to provide better but efficient & accelerate health services to the people of this back ward areas. Lauding the scheme of BHU Plus, having Labour room, baby breathing corner and other important equipments at each BHU under scheme to provide round the clock services, the Chief Minister Sindh asked the management to increase the number of such facility especially at the far flung areas, like Tharpakar. The Chief Minister Sindh said that though recently we have inducted about 150 lady Doctors including 24 for Distt Tharpakar but still there is need of the more lady Doctors to serve the people especially at rural areas.
However the Chief Minister Sindh directed the Health Department and other stake holder organizations working on Anti Polio drive to further boost up their efforts to achieve the status of the Sindh as Polio Free Province. He said that he is fully concentrating and providing all required facilitates including the security with police contingent of 700 to 800 corps to the polio eradicating teams at Karachi but still we receiving the Polio cases. He said that the main cause behind this was the more influx into Karachi and other urban areas of Sindh from the Flood affected areas of Sindh and areas under the Army Operation in the Wazirstan.
He said that people of these areas are not getting their children vaccinated and playing as the carrier of the Polio virus in the urban areas of Sindh. However he directed the authorities to work hard while launching anti polio campaign and also directed to the Health Department to hand over two Districts, Dadu and Thatta Distt to the management of PPHI for implementing Anti Polio campaign there as pilot project and added that other districts would be handed over to them in case they to success.
Earlier the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of PPHI in his key note address said that in order to maintain and strengthen the cold chain in the Health Facilities, PPHI is providing 332 Ice lined Refrigerators to Health Facilities out which 256 were electric and 56 Solar based. He said this will improve the working and protect the vaccines and other important medicines.
He said that PPHI came into being in 2007 with one District Kashmore but today it has been expended gradually to 23 district of Sindh and efficiently utilizing the Sindh Government’s infrastructure valued at approximately Rs 20 billion and delivering primary Health care (PHC) in the rural areas efficiently. He said that out of 1972 public health facilities of Sindh Govt in the province, PPHI is utilizing 1139. He said that at the time of take over most of these health facilities were under the illegal occupation of influenced people which were not only got vacated but made functional as well. Similarly PPHI initialy had faced shortage of Doctors Para Medical staff but PPHI appointed 722 Doctors , 630 Para Medical staff and 579 LHV and Midwives on contract basis. Dr Riaz Memon further elaborated that at present besides male, PPHI has 419 lady doctors , 1049 lady Health Visitors LHVs. He said that by virtue of over mission of Health services PPHI has provided health services to more than 20 million people during last year.
He said that we have introduced scheme of BHU-Plus under which labour room, baby breathing corner,, other necessary facilities of Doctors, Parra Medics, equipments and medicines have been made available at each BHU under scheme for round the clock for the needy people. He said that at present eight (8) BHU-Plus Health facilities have been made functional and other were in the pipeline. He said that PPHI has provided 2,25,000 Anti snake & Anti rabies vaccination at the cost of Rs 83.5 million to its health facilities. Besides it started an Ambulance Service for Rural Area and in 1st Phase 66 Ambulance including 6 advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) have been launched. In Addition to that 71 BHU provided lab facility, 493 BHUs provides electricity and 37 solar power, 1050 BHUs provided all necessary equipments and 647 BHUs equipped with Labour room facilities.
The CEO PPHI sought that since his organization has good infra structure net and working staff in all over Sindh, as such all the vertical health programme be handed over to PPHI as per sprit of 18th amendment for better Health Services to the people The Chairman PPHI Fazul Rehman in his vote of thanks expressed his satisfaction over the support that is being provided to PPHI by Sindh Govt. He said that because of this support today PPHI is enable to run 8 BHUs – Plus and run 1139 (HF) which was 58% of Health facilities of the Sindh Govt. He said that the immunization programme of provincial Health Department could be run effectively by PPHI as such it to be handed over to PPHI in addition to all vertical Health Programme in the interest of common men.
