Sindh government has allocated Rs 96.38 billion for health sector in the budget for financial year 2018-19. "Apart from rupees 12.2 billion for non-development side, rupees 12.50 billion has been allocated in the head of development," Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, said at Sindh Assembly where he presented budget on Thursday
He further said that new schemes of health sector would be accommodated under the provision of Rs 50 billion earmarked separately as block allocation for new schemes for all sectors in ADP 2018-19.
Shah also elaborated his government performance in 2017-18, highlighting 68 new uplift schemes of Rs 5.12 billion, including RHCs, Trauma-cum-Emergency Centres and construction of warehouses at all divisional HQRs for cold storage facility; four schemes of up-gradation of RHC, to THQ Hospitals and establishment of Cancer Ward at NIMRA, Jamshoro at the cost of Rs 1.086 billion.
EPI operational budget under Sindh Immunization Support Program increased from Rs 100 million to Rs 1.80 billion while expansion of 2160 LHWs at a cost of Rs 982.31 million in addition to 1063 LHWs under Thar Package.
He said achievements of Sindh government in health sector would remain incomplete. He acknowledged the services rendered by National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) which is the biggest centre for the treatment of heart attack and primary angioplasty in the world. Currently, six chest pain units are functional in Karachi and 60 more such chest pain units will be installed in different areas of the province. They are NICVD satellite centres at Tando Muhammad Khan, Larkana, Hyderabad and Sehwan in collaboration with the government of Sindh. Very soon, three more NICVD centres will be made functional at Nawabshah, Khairpur and Mithi in the year 2018. Grant for NICVD has been enhanced from Rs 5.769 billion to Rs 8.094 billion for next financial year.
Initiatives under PPP: Murad Shah said that 1,213 health facilities have been outsourced on performance based management contract, which include 1,049 facilities to PPHI and 158 facilities outsourced to some other NGOs (108 Integrated Health Services, 35 HANDS, 01 Indus Hospital, 13 Medical Emergency Relief Foundation, 01 Poverty Eradication Initiative.
Two Regional Blood Transfusion Centres at Sukkur and Jamshoro have been outsourced to Sukkur Blood Bank and Indus Hospital, respectively.
GRANTS: Sindh government is providing Rs 5.59 billion to SIUT as a grant in next financial year (2018-19). It includes establishment of SIUT at Larkana with an allocation of Rs 497.5 million. SIUT Sukkur chapter has been established at the cost of Rs 552.27 million. This institute has been functionalized to provide affordable OPD, Diagnostic, Dialysis and other specialized services. Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit in SIUT established at the cost of Rs 692.779 million, which is equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure and facilities, benefiting 50-100 patients. Child Life Foundation is managing children emergency rooms in three Government Hospitals under PPP agreement which include: Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi, National Institute of Child Health and Sindh Government Hospital Korangi No.5. By May 2018, ChildLife Foundation would start operation at 2 more emergency service centres in Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and Lyari General Hospital in Karachi. By June 2018, ChildLife would begin ER operations in 2 more facilities: Peoples Medical College, Nawabshah and Chandka Medical College, Larkana. Lastly by the end of 2018, Children ERs would also become functional at Ghulam Muhammad Mahar Medical College, Sukkur and Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro.
He said Sindh is facing challenges of malnutrition and stunting as 48 percent children in Sindh are malnourished and stunted. The Sindh government, in collaboration with World Bank, has begun a multi-sectoral program to reduce the rate of stunting in children with the aim to reduce it by 30 percent in the next five years.
Murad Shah said he had allocated Rs 2.4 billion on the non-development side for this program in the year 2017-18 and proposed an allocation of Rs 5.1 billion in the next year. The major departments responsible for this program are Health, Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Local Govt. Social Welfare.
A new allocation proposed in the budget for International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences for strengthening Jamil-ur-Rehman Centre for Genome Research at the University of Karachi to establish DNA Lab. Funds were allocated in the budget to improve Cardiology Department at Lyari General Hospital Karachi; to strengthen Sindh Institute of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences Hyderabad; to construct 200-bed Surgical Block at Liaquat University Hospital; to construct 200-bed Urology, Nephrology, Gastroenterology, Endoscopy, Suite, Dermatology, endocrinology and Diabetes Block, LUH, Jamshoro; to establish NICVD Satellite Centre at Shaheed Benazirabad. To rehabilitate and strengthen Nursing Hostel, Obstetrics & Gynaecology Department, O.T., External Development and Missing Facilities at Sheikh Zayed Campus, CMCH, Larkana; to construct Building of Nursing School & Hostel Mirpurkhas; to up-grade Rural Health Centre to the level of Taluka Hospital Khanpur in District Shikarpur; to strengthen Development wing including Capacity Building of officers/officials of Health Department.
INDUS HOSPITAL BADIN: The initiatives brought about remarkable improvement in the provision of public health service, including OPDs, IPDS, surgeries, etc. The management of DHQ Badin was handed over to the Indus Hospital under the PPP mode in March, 2016 and very soon the people of Badin will see a new 250-bed facility.