The Punjab government is spending Rs 94 million on the activities to control malaria in the province under malaria control programme (MCP), Punjab Health Minister Chaudhry Muhammad Iqbal said here on Saturday.
Talking to various delegations, Iqbal stressed the need of door-to-door and child-to-child co-ordination and involvement of lady health workers for the success of immunisation programmes. 'WHO would continue its assistance for the provision of basic healthcare facilities at grass root level', he said, adding, district monitoring teams were checking the implementation of project for the effectiveness of expanded programme of immunisation (EPI).
He said that government assigns top priority to EPI and Rs 97 million were being allocated from its regular budget annually in addition to support from the development funds. A project worth Rs 940.047 million with the support of Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunisation (GAVI) had been launched, he added.
The minister said polio eradication has been accorded highest priority by the Punjab government and all support from provincial and district governments is mobilised to achieve the target. Efforts and support of WHO and Unicef which are contributing towards health promotion, disease prevention and control and especially eradication polio from the province, are greatly appreciated, he maintained.
He said Hepatitis-B has been included in routine EPI in all the districts of the Punjab where Vitamin-A supplements is being provided once a year. The government is effectively implementing the DOTS strategy for TB control and sizeable amount of budget has been allocated for this programme.
He said that a project enhance AIDS control programme at total cost of Rs 636 million. The prevention of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis are being strengthened through raising public awareness, social mobilisation and strengthening blood screening and promotion of safe blood transfusion services, he concluded.