Sindh Government has allocated Rs 96.38 billion for the Health Sector in the budget for financial year 2018-19.
"Apart from rupees 12.2 billion for non-development side, rupees 12.50 billion have been allocated in the head of development," Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, said at the Sindh Assembly, while presenting the budget.
He further said that, new schemes within the health sector would be accommodated under the provision of Rs 50 billion.
Shah also elaborated his government’s performance in 2017-18, highlighting 68 new uplift schemes of Rs 5.12 billion, including RHCs, Trauma-Emergency Centers and construction of warehouses at all divisional HQRs for cold storage facility; four schemes of up-gradation of RHC, to THQ Hospitals and establishment of Cancer Ward at NIMRA, Jamshoro at the cost of Rs 1.086 billion.
EPI operational budget under Sindh Immunization Support Program increased from Rs 100 million to Rs 1.80 billion while expansion of 2160 LHWs at a cost of Rs 982.31 million in addition to 1063 LHWs under Thar Package.
He acknowledged the services rendered by National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) which is the biggest center for the treatment of heart attack and primary angioplasty in the world. Currently, 6 chest pain units are functional in Karachi and 60 more such chest pain units will be installed in different areas of the province. NICVD satellite centers are present in Tando Muhammad Khan, Larkana, Hyderabad and Sehwan, in collaboration with the Government of Sindh. Soon, 3 more NICVD centers will be made functional at Nawabshah, Khairpur and Mithi in the year 2018. Grant for NICVD has been enhanced from Rs 5.769 billion to Rs 8.094 billion for next financial year.
Initiatives under PPP: Murad Shah said that 1,213 health facilities have been outsourced on performance based management contract, which include 1,049 facilities to PPHI and 158 facilities outsourced to some other NGOs (108 Integrated Health Services, 35 HANDS, 01 Indus Hospital, 13 Medical Emergency Relief Foundation, 01 Poverty Eradication Initiative.)
2 Regional Blood Transfusion Centers at Sukkur and Jamshoro have been outsourced to Sukkur Blood Bank and Indus Hospital, respectively.
GRANTS: Sindh Government is granting Rs 5.59 billion to SIUT within the next financial year (2018-19). It includes establishment of SIUT at Larkana with an allocation of Rs 497.5 million. SIUT Sukkur chapter has been established at the cost of Rs 552.27 million. This institute has been functionalized to provide affordable OPD, Diagnostic, Dialysis and other specialized services. Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit in SIUT established at the cost of Rs 692.779 million, which is equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure and facilities, benefiting 50-100 patients. Child Life Foundation is managing children emergency rooms in 3 Government Hospitals under PPP agreement which includes, Dr. Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi, National Institute of Child Health and Sindh Government Hospital Korangi No.5.
By May 2018, Child Life Foundation would start operation at 2 more emergency service centers in Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and Lyari General Hospital in Karachi. By June 2018, Child Life would begin ER operations in 2 more facilities: Peoples Medical College, Nawabshah and Chandka Medical College, Larkana. Lastly by the end of 2018, Children ERs would also become functional at Ghulam Muhammad Mahar Medical College, Sukkur and Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro.
Furthermore, he added that, Sindh is facing challenges of malnutrition, as 48 percent children in Sindh are undernourished and stunted. Sindh Government, in collaboration with World Bank, has begun a multi-sectorial program to reduce the rate of stunting in children with the aim to reduce it by 30% within the next 5 years.
Rs 2.4 billion are allocated for the non-development side, in the year 2017-18. CM proposed an allocation of Rs 5.1 billion in the next year. The major departments responsible for this program are Health, Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Local Govt. Social Welfare.
A new allocation was proposed in the budget, for International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences for strengthening Jamil-ur-Rehman Centre for Genome Research at the University of Karachi to establish a DNA Lab.
Funds were allocated in the budget to improve Cardiology Department at Lyari General Hospital Karachi; to strengthen Sindh Institute of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences Hyderabad; to construct 200-bed Surgical Block at Liaquat University Hospital; to construct 200-bed Urology, Nephrology, Gastroenterology, Endoscopy, Suite, Dermatology, endocrinology and Diabetes Block, LUH, Jamshoro; to establish NICVD Satellite Centre at Shaheed Benazirabad. To rehabilitate and strengthen Nursing Hostel, Obstetrics & Gynecology Department, O.T., External Development and Missing Facilities at Sheikh Zayed Campus, CMCH, Larkana; to construct Building of Nursing School & Hostel Mirpurkhas; to up-grade Rural Health Centre to the level of Taluka Hospital Khanpur in District Shikarpur; to strengthen Development wing including Capacity Building of officers/officials of Health Department.
INDUS HOSPITAL BADIN: The initiatives brought about remarkable improvement in the provision of public health service, including OPDs, IPDS, surgeries, etc. The management of DHQ Badin was handed over to Indus Hospital, under the PPP mode in March, 2016 and very soon, people of Badin will see a new 250-bedded health facility.
