LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif visited the Pakistan Kidney and Liver Transplant Institute here on Sunday.
He went to various parts of the under-construction institution and reviewed progress of the project.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister directed the authorities to speed up work on the first phase of the project, and to meet the stipulated deadline.
The chief minister added that the project would provide modern treatment to the liver and kidney patients of the region and added that Punjab government was spending Rs19 billion on the project.
Meanwhile, the chief minister also presided over a meeting at the site office of the institute in which he was briefed on its progress by the chief executive officer of the infrastructure development authority.
Giving directives at the occasion, Shehbaz instructed that the front area of the institute should be kept vacant to receive emergency cases, while trees should be planted around the site. He advised officials of the specialised healthcare and medical education department to visit the site twice a week and review progress on the project, adding that he himself would visit it once every week.
CM says one lakh hepatitis patients will receive free medicines by June 2018: The chief minister on Sunday said that 15,000 hepatitis patients had been provided with free medicines at their doorsteps under the government’s hepatitis control programme, adding that the government would have achieved the target of providing 100,000 patients with free medicines by June 2018.
He was speaking through a video link to a meeting of officials in Civil Secretariat, who were discussing headways made by the health department in the upgrading and improving the province’s health facilities.
Shehbaz said that the Punjab government was a pioneer in delivering free medicines to patients with tuberculosis (TB) and hepatitis at their doorsteps. “5,000 patients have been provided with free medicines at their homes under the TB control program,” he said.
He added that work on establishing hepatitis filter clinics was being carried out in the districts and that 60 small hepatitis clinics had been made functional at the tehsil headquarters hospitals. He, moreover, urged the importance of spreading awareness campaigns among the public on the prevention and treatment of hepatitis.
Turkish ambassador calls on chief minister: Turkish Ambassador Sadiq Babur Gargon called upon Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday for his farewell meeting.
During the meeting, ideas were exchanged on issues of mutual interest, including the promotion of Pak-Turk relationships and the enhancement of cooperation in different sections.
The chief minister praised the ambassador’s role in the promotion of Pak-Turk relations and expressed good wishes for him, saying that Gargon’s services would always be remembered. He especially mentioned the economic headway made between the historically friendly countries in the past several years, adding that there was much potential still for further increase in the bilateral relationships between the two countries.
The Turkish ambassador thanked the chief minister, saying he would always remember the hospitality of Pakistani, and especially Punjabi, people.
Council General of Turkey Sardar Deniz was also present during the occasion.
