Procurement of vaccine: government extends PC-I term for another year

The federal government has extended its PC-I for another year and took the responsibility of procurement and provision of all nine vaccines to the provinces up to June 2013.
A spokesman for health department said here on Sunday that after 18th Amendment vertical health programmes have been devolved to the provinces but the federal government has agreed to funding these health programmes till June 2013.
The spokesman further said that before 18th Amendment it was the federal government's responsibility to procure and provide all the nine vaccines to the provinces under (EPI) Programme.
After 18th Amendment this responsibility has been devolved to the Provincial Health Departments. Since it was a huge task and Provincial Health Departments so far do not have capacity to perform this function, therefore, in the meeting on Inter-Provincial Coordination Unit of federal government held under the chairmanship of Federal Minister Mir Hazar Khan Bajarani on last Monday, Provincial Health Departments had unanimously requested the federal government to continue the purchase and provision of vaccines to the provinces for ensuring their continuous provision to the children as it was being done for the last many decades.
The federal government has extended its PC-I for another year and took the responsibility of procurement and provision of all nine vaccines to the provinces upto June 2013, he added.
The spokesman further said that earlier according to the devolution of vertical health programmes Health Department Punjab had to procure vaccines for whole year but since the federal government has agreed to provide these vaccines therefore, Punjab Health Department is procuring only buffer stock of vaccines for three months as a routine practice. The procurement process is in the final stage. Moreover, Health Department has stock of vaccines for another two months.
The spokesman said that presently there is no shortage of vaccines and hoped that federal government would fulfil its promise of providing vaccines in time.