Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday said his government was making every effort to reduce the miseries of the common man by providing them with better life amenities.
“I want to ease the lives of common people by giving them access to basic facilities in a respectable way, particularly better health services,” the prime minister said in his address at the launch of PM’s Health Card scheme in Punjab, in Rahim Yar Khan.
Nawaz Sharif said poor people in the country had little or no access to healthcare and in case of diseases like cancer or cardiac diseases, and they were unable to afford expensive treatment.
He said the PM’s Health Card scheme would enable the patients’ access to the public and private hospitals on panel, even for the treatment of cancer, cardiac issues including by-pass surgery and angioplasty, liver diseases such as hepatitis, pregnancy and post-natal complications, injuries and burns.
The limit of medical cover will be up to Rs 0.3 million, however on exhaust of limit, the treatment will completed with the financial assistance of Bait-ul-Maal, he said.
He said that 0.39 million families had so far been registered with the scheme in the cities including Islamabad, Quetta, Kotli, Skardu, whereas work in Lasbela and Khanewal, was in progress.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif particularly lauded the efforts of State Minister for Health Saira Afzal Tarar and Maryam Nawaz in successful implementation of the Health Card scheme.
He also appreciated Azad Kashmir Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider, Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Balochistan and Gilgit Baltistan chief ministers, for taking personal interest in the project.
A toll-free telephone number 8500 is available 24/7 for public and National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has been tasked to facilitate this, he added.
The prime minister said he always had a passion to serve the masses particularly the underprivileged segment of society and stressed that every government should realise and fulfil the similar moral and religious responsibility.
Nawaz Sharif recalled that he had set-up a kidney hospital in Swat while in pposition, because of the pain he felt for the people of area who had no facility of treatment of renal diseases.
He said he was committed to setting up 50 new hospitals across the country. Prime Minister Muhammed Nawaz Sharif said his government had launched several development projects, which would usher in an era of progress and prosperity.
He mentioned that a network of motorways was being expanded across the country, adding that it was only the Pakistan Muslim League-N that built a motorway in the country.
“Ask any other political party, government or dictator in the past. None of them have constructed motorways, which not only reduce distances but ends poverty,” he said.
The Prime Minister said work on Karachi-Lahore motorway was in progress and added that a motorway in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa from Hassan Abdal to Mansehra would ultimately link upto Khunjrab at Chinese border.
He said Rahim Yar Khan would benefit from the Multan-Sukkur motorway, which is to be completed by 2019.
He said the government had taken steps to upgrade Pakistan Railways and had also improved the services of Pakistan International Airlines, which was yielding results.
“Since came into power, we have effectively dealt with all these challenges which were passed over to our government. Allah’s blessings are showered wherever is sincerity in hearts,” he said.
Saira Afzal Tarar said Rahim Yar Khan had been chosen for the initiation of this health programme as the Prime Minister wanted it to be launched from South Punjab.
She said the PM’s Health Card Scheme was being implemented in collaboration with provinces and transparency was the basis of this project.
Earlier, the prime minister gave away health cards to the deserving families and individuals.
