Health initiative: 4,000 doctors to be recruited for rural Sindh

WFP, health dept joint programme aims to improve nutrition, health in the province

KARACHI: Sindh health department is recruiting 4,000 doctors through the Sindh Public Service Commission on merit to fill the gap in rural areas, according to provincial health minister Jam Mehtab Hussain Dahar.

The doctors will be assigned to particular union councils and will not be transferred before completing three years of their posting are completed in order to reach the large number of patients of the rural population.

He said this while speaking on Monday to a delegation of the World Food Programme (WFP) at his office.

The health minister said that since 2013, 439,000 children have become direct beneficiaries of the WFP. He explained that the programme was being implemented by lady health workers with technical support by the nutrition cell of the Sindh people's primary healthcare initiative.

"The 2010 floods created food insecurity in Sindh and the Sindh health department and WFP are trying their level best to provide food security to the people and respond to any emergency situations," he said.

During the meeting, the head of WFP's provincial office, Aline Rumonge, informed Dahar that WFP Pakistan had extended its cooperation to the health department and was going to launch its nutrition programme in more districts of Sindh.

"The process of inducting 4,000 doctors in the health department is underway and those that have passed the written test will be called for an interview very soon," informed health secretary Ahmed Bux Narejo. "The induction of the 4,000 doctors will bring a significant difference in service delivery for patients," he said, adding that with the help of the doctors, their main focus would be to avoid preventable and epidemic diseases in Sindh.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 17^th, 2016.