The Punjab government, led by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Mian Mohammad Shahbaz Sharif, is striving for provision of quality education and health facilities to the masses without any discrimination and looking for financial and technical assistance from the development financial institutions (DFIs) for this purpose.
Sources in the PML-N told Business Recorder here on Wednesday that the provincial government had also planned to introduce health insurance to provide health cover to all citizens. The government was paying special attention to education, health, infrastructure and social sector development to ensure overall progress and uplift of the province, the sources said.
The sources said majority of the population in Punjab was hit hard by poverty, but no effort was made for the progress of the poor masses and their children. However, the sources claimed that the present government was striving for removing deprivations of the people. The provincial government had set its priorities in a bid to remove backwardness of the people and uplift of education sector, the sources said.
Punjab Minister for Population Welfare Neelam Jabbar Chaudhry said that leadership of Punjab was well aware of the requirements of modern era. The provincial government has given top priority to attract investment in the province and the concept of public-private partnership is being promoted in the province through good governance and economic co-operation programme, she added.
Neelam said that reformatory initiatives are being introduced in education, health and other social sectors, which resulted in provision of relief to the masses and improvement in their living standard. She said the present government was keen to the rural development, she added. To achieve the desired results of the proposed reformatory agenda, she said that a comprehensive and effective monitoring and evaluation system is being implemented at district and provincial levels.
She said that Rs 58.64 billion would be spent on social sector development programme whereas Rs 30 billion had been earmarked for educational development projects and Rs 26.10 billion would be spent for the provision of healthcare facilities to the masses in the current fiscal year.
Neelam further said that more than 300 new family welfare centres would be established in the province for the provision of basic maternal and child healthcare facilities. She informed that NGOs were also being encouraged and motivated to lend a helping hand in this cause as over-population was a national burden.
Community leaders, especially Ulema and the media, could greatly contribute in realising the people to keep their families within their resources. About 80 percent children were being benefited through preventive healthcare programme, she said, and added through effective campaign regarding preventive healthcare programmes, "we would achieve the cent percent target within few years".
Moreover, the Ministry of Social Welfare was working on a plan to set up small industries at local level under the food support programme to provide employment and training opportunities to the members of the poor families across the country. The project would help engage deserving persons and poor families "to work and earn" instead of looking for financial aid, sources said.