Provision of healthcare facilities to the people was at the top priority of the Punjab Chief Minister's agenda, and the government was also attaching special attention to the rights of women and children.
Punjab Health Minister Dr Tahir Ali Javed said this while addressing a meeting regarding women and child health and the treatment of eye diseases here on Friday, which was attended by the officers of Health Department and representatives of donor agencies.
A project, to provide state-of-the-art ophthalmology facilities to the people of far-flung areas has been launched in collaboration with the financial assistance of Australia, which has pumped in 5 million dollars for the same, he said. The project has been started under comprehensive Eye-care programme and latest training facilities of eye operation would be provided to surgeons and other paramedics, including dispensers who will be given qualitative training for diagnosing eye diseases, besides providing latest medical equipment, he added.
The Minister also informed that blindness would be totally wiped out from the country in 2020.
He said that the role of international donor agencies was being made more strengthened vis-à-vis health sector and added that effective system of monitoring and evaluation was also being chalked out for apposite exploitation of development funds.