Minister for Population Welfare Punjab Neelam Jabbar Chaudhry here on Friday said that in order to provide health, education, sanitation, clean drinking water and other civic amenities to every citizen of the country, the rapidly growing population has to be controlled and in this regard, a comprehensive awareness campaign would be launched in the province.
She stressed upon every citizen including the community leaders, teachers, elected representatives and Ulema to play their role in this social service. While talking to various delegations of doctors and people, Neelam Jabbar Chaudhry said that focus of the provincial government was upon primary and protective healthcare so that to achieve the millennium development goals (MDGs).
She said government was giving top priority to the provision of modern healthcare facilities to all segments of the society and the family physicians were the backbone of healthcare delivery system as the majority of the masses benefited from them. The minister said by increasing the health budget, the present government had ensured modern health facilities and free medicines as well as air-conditioning in general wards to the poor and resource-less people.
She informed that at present, under-five mortality rate is 94/1000 and it would be reduced to 65 by 2011 and 45 till 2015 (MDGs target), new born mortality rate was 54/1000 and would be reduced up to 40 and 25 by years 2011 and 2015 respectively. She averred that the government was providing opportunities to the experts for awareness regarding changes in the health sciences and the hospitals were being up-graded throughout the province for treatment of complicated diseases.