Senate Standing Committee on National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination in its first meeting on Tuesday received briefing on performance, service delivery and allocated funds in the budget for the ministry.
The committee meeting chaired by Sajjad Hussain Toru was informed that 39 major health projects have been planned for year 2015-16 including a Rs 800 million cancer hospital in the federal capital.
It was informed that the study has been started for the establishment of the hospital and the prime minister has constituted a committee in this regard.
The chairman committee urged to set up same cancer hospitals in far-flung areas of the country including FATA, Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to help the poor people.
He also directed to upgrade basic health unit in FATA and make it a full a hospital and deploy health specialists in different agencies of FATA.
He said that more facilities should be provided to pharmaceutical companies to stop sale of spurious drugs.
He directed to computerise the record of admitted patients in public and private hospitals to have compete data of different diseases.
Minister for National Health Services Saira Afzal Tarrar apprised the senate body that all provinces have given a mandate to the federal government for setting up the Drug Regulatory Authority.
She said that in order to include Pakistan and Afghanistan in same block regarding immunisation of polio drops at same time, the government has talked to the government of Afghanistan.
Secretary Ministry of National Health Services Ayub Sheikh informed the committee that 600 pharmaceutical companies are working in the country while the country imports medicines of worth Rs 200 million.
He said that a health regulatory authority will be set up. He added the country has got membership of two important international health organisations.
The secretary said that Pakistan has been included in the governing body of World Health Organisation (WHO). He added the government has approved PC-1 of the National Health Insurance, adding, in first phase 23 districts of all provinces have been included.
He said that those families will be illegible for insurance who earn Rs 200 per day, adding that the survey record of the Benazir Income Support Program will be used in this regard.
