Health sector: nine projects worth Rs 290.555 million approved

The Departmental Development Working Party (DDWP) of the Ministry of Health that met here Wednesday under chairmanship of Secretary Health Khushnood Akhtar Lashari approved 9 projects worth Rs 290.555 million.
The projects include "Upgradation of Nursing School at Federal Government Services Hospital" at a cost of Rs 39.927 million with the objective to provide improved teaching facilities to train about 200 nurses annually in the upgraded facility. The project will be completed within two years.
A project for "Establishment of National Resource Centre for Raw Materials of Traditional Medicine" at National Institute of Health (NIH) costing Rs 28.069 million was also approved.
The project is aimed at promoting cultivation/land propagation of medicinal and aromatic plants of therapeutic and commercial value, conducting feasibility studies for the cultivation of useful medicinal plants, and developing a national database of medicinal and aromatic plants.
Keeping in view the demand for a model Allergy Centre, the DDWP approved upgradation of Allergy Centre at NIH at a cost of Rs 39.876 million that will take three years to complete.
For safe disposal of hospital waste, two projects, to be executed at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad and Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi with a combined cost of Rs 62.686 million, were also approved subject to clearance by Environmental Protection Agency.
The DDWP approved in principle a project "National Tobacco Control Programme" at a cost of Rs 39.86 million that is aimed at reducing exposure to smoke at all places of work, public transport and public places through provision of specific guidelines. The project is also aimed at putting in place tobacco related disease surveillance system.
To prepare disaster risk management plans for each level of health care facilities including management of mass casualties and epidemics, a project for "Establishment of National Health Emergency Preparedness and Response (HEPR) Centre" at Islamabad costing Rs 39.747 million was approved.
Other projects include setting up Federal Medical Centre at Lahore, Strengthening of Country Co-ordination Mechanism (CCM) for activities related to Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria (GFATM). The Chair directed that PC-I for all approved projects should be prepared immediately and presented before the next meeting of DDWP for consideration.