Minister for treating the ailing health sector

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The Provincial Minister for Law, Excise & Taxation and Finance Mujtaba Shuja ur Rehman has said that the government is using all available resources to provide better healthcare facilities to the people especially mothers and children in the province, and the priority areas of the targets are rural folk. He said that government has provided an extra Rs. 2 billion for the control of communicable diseases, and has increased the budget by 19.8 per cent for ongoing expenditure for the health sector. He said that government has reserved Rs. 2 billion to achieve the millennium development goals (MDGs).

While talking to a delegation of family physicians, LHWs and women at his residence, Mujtaba Shuja ur Rehman said that skilled birth attendants, LHVs and LHWs are being appointed at health centres. He said that at present the mortality rate for children under five is 94/1000 and it will be reduced to 45 till the end of 2015 (MDGs target), the new born mortality rate is 54/1000 and it would be reduced up to 25 by year 2015, whereas, infant mortality rate is 77/1000 which would be reduced by 40 by the end of 2015. He said that the maternal mortality ratio is 350-500/100000 and would be reduced by 140. He said that 20 per cent birth deliveries are attended by skilled birth attendant and this ratio would be increased more than 90 percent by 2015 whereas, contraceptive prevalence rate is 36 percent that would be increased up to 55 percent by 2015.

Rehman said that the government considers the dignity of the prestigious medical profession and will redress all the major problems being faced by the medical community including paramedics. He said that the focus of the Provincial government is on primary and protective healthcare so that they can achieve the millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

He said that by increasing the health budget up to Rs. 121.80 billion, the present government has ensured modern health facilities and free medicines as well as air-conditioning in general wards to poor and resource-less people. He informed that at the cost of Rs.4 billion, health insurance cards will be issued so that to provide state of the art healthcare facilities, even in private health institutions, to poor card holders. He said that Rs. 60 crore has been reserved for dialysis facilities that will cater to poor patients, and Rs. 1 billion has been provided for mobile health units.

The minister said that the Punjab government is focusing on the provision of education and healthcare facilities to common people and has taken revolutionary steps through re-engineering of resources so that modern education, as well as latest medical facilities, could be provided to the people at their doorsteps.