The City District Government Rawalpindi (CDGR) has earmarked Rs 45 million to provide better healthcare facilities especially in far-flung rural areas of the district, said Raja Javed Ikhlas, City District Nazim here on Monday.
"The city district government worked hard to provide medicines, doctors and paramedics at every Basic Health Units (BHUs) and Rural Health Centres (RHCs) in the district", the nazim said while addressing a ceremony held at Rawalpindi Press Club to mark World Tuberculosis (TB) Day on Monday.
The ceremony was organised by National Tuberculosis Control Programme in collaboration with Asia Foundation and City District Government Rawalpindi. Ikhlas informed the participants that his government has doubled the allocation for health sector during the last two years from Rs 20 to 45 million, which reflects the commitment to provide better healthcare facilities to the masses.
He was satisfied with the expansion of the National TB Control Programme in Rawalpindi saying that the control rate is much higher than the other districts of the country and this is the reason that WHO appreciated the efforts of CDGR in controlling the deadly disease.
"The government alone could not control the TB without the active support of the people. The civil society particularly NGOs should come forward to play their effective role for completely eradicating this killer disease from the country", he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Consultant Asia Foundation, Laila Naqvi, District Co-ordinator TB Control Programme Dr Shama, Dr Tahir from Asia Foundation and EDO (Health) Dr Zafar Iqbal Gondal said that TB is 100 percent curable and the government started DOTS programme under which totally free treatment is being provided to the patients at all government hospitals.
They said that Pakistan ranks 7th in the world where TB has played havoc. They revealed that in spite of government efforts every year some 0.3 million people were added to total number of TB patients in Pakistan.