ISLAMABAD: Brick Kiln Owners Association of Pakistan (BKOAP) President Shoaib Khan Niazi has said that a small innovative public-private experiment in Lahore and Rawalpindi, for the first time in Pakistan’s history, has brought government’s health services at the doorstep of brick kiln clusters.
Speaking at the media dialogue, jointly organised by Islamabad Press Club (IPC) and Development Impact Solutions (DIS), here on Wednesday, Niazi said that DIS has established an innovative model and set up four pilot “health houses” at four different brick kiln clusters – two each in Lahore and Rawalpindi – where hundreds of male and female brick kiln workers and their children are getting free health services.
He said that the BKOAP provided free land and buildings so that DIS could establish these health houses. He strongly urged the Punjab Health Department to adopt this innovative model as part of its development scheme for FY 2018-19, and allocate at least Rs500 million and replicate this model to all brick kiln workers in Punjab.
DIS Project Director Munazza Iqbal shared that so far, a total of 1,652 adult patients (52 per cent women), and 889 child patients (52 per cent girls) have directly benefited and received health services from the health houses. She added that until Dec 2017, 150 patients (58 per cent females) had been referred to the nearby BHU/RHC.
She said that this small innovative project, “Linking Brick Kiln Women Workers with Formal Health Services”, is funded by PaMadium/DfiD. She further shared that the Strategic Policy Unit of the Punjab Health Department reviews the progress of the project quarterly through a steering committee.
DIS, through its collaboration with Punjab Health Department, has got about 20 notable health professionals who visit these four health houses after government office hours. She said that the health houses were established with the support of BKOAP members where they provided free land and building for its establishment.
BKAOP Lahore General Secretary Mahar Abdul Haq shared the benefits of the health house for female brick kiln workers in this cluster. He said that the brick kiln owners gave free land, and constructed a dedicated building for DIS to set up the health house.
He also shared that how on the advice of the DIS, all the 16 brick kiln owners at Batapur cluster established a revolving fund for an emergency expenditure, where male or female brick kiln workers may need health support.
A video was also shown to describe the working of health house.
It is pertinent to mention here that around one million brick kiln workers – especially women – are outside the net of Punjab government’s health and maternity services, thus suffering from multiple diseases and ill-treatment at the hands of quacks.
