NWFP Minister for Health, Inayatullah has ordered preparation of a well-designed realistic plan for provision of free insulin to diabetic patients under public - private partnership.
He issued these directives while presiding over a high level meeting convened to devise strategy for the relief of insulin dependent diabetic patients at Health Secretariat, Peshawar on Friday.
Acting Secretary Health, Dr Jalilur Rahman, MNA Dr Syed Javed Hussain, Ex Director Abasin Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS) Dr Ziaul Hassan and others attended the meeting.
Referring to the proposed project, the Health Minister said the spending on health was fruitful investment as it could enhance working capacity of the community. Directing for hammering out a comprehensive model for public - private partnership to provide insulin to the dependent patients, the minister asked planner to set a clear cut criteria for identification of high risk insulin dependent patients.
He also asked for clear demarcation of the contribution of both public and private sector in the project. The minister directed the concerned committee constituted for the purpose, to submit a realistic concept paper earlier in this regard.
It is worth mentioning that a committee comprising of Dr Hamid Afridi, Deputy Director HSRRU, Dr Ziaul Hassan, Executive Director AIMS and Shergul Safi, Senior Planning Officer was assigned the task of compiling a concept paper for insulin project within two weeks period.
Briefing the meeting about the status of insulin dependent patients in the province, Dr Zia said that 2 percent of the total population of the region was in acute need of insulin. "There are 12,000 registered insulin dependent patients in NWFP while a total of 40,000 diabetic patients require insulin for their survival" Dr Zia maintained. He went on to say that diabetic children and pregnant mothers were among high risk groups.