Pakistan

PM launches National Health Programme

Programme is aimed at providing quality healthcare to the poor in public and private hospitals

News Desk December 31, 2015

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday launched the Prime Minister’s National Health Programme in Islamabad to ensure medical treatment for families living below the poverty line.

“It is our duty to provide the best medical care to poor people and this programme is just a step further in executing our responsibility,” PM Nawaz said while addressing a gathering at the inaugural ceremony of the National Health Programme.

PM health programme: National health insurance to be launched by year-end

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif addresses a gathering at the launching ceremony of National Health Programme in Islamabad on December 31, 2015. PHOTO: INP

“We have no other option but to make this programme a success,” the prime minister said, adding there should not be any politics involved in health-related initiatives.

The prime minister invited all the provincial governments to be a part of the national-level initiative for provision of better medical treatment to the impoverish population across the country.

“We will provide latest technical equipment not only to public but also to private hospitals to aide this programme,” the prime minister announced; however, he said serious action will be taken against those who try to misuse it.

Further, the prime minister directed the federal health minister to keep monitoring the progress of the services being provided to the people through the health programme.

The prime minister also thanked chairman National Database Registration Authority (Nadra) for providing the technical assistance and chairperson State Life Insurance Corporation for providing insurance coverage to the beneficiaries of the programme.

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Earlier, minister of State for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Saira Afzal Tarar briefed PM Nawaz on the services and benefits of the programme, which will provide cheap medical care to poor people against seven life-threatening diseases.

The scheme offers free of cost treatment for ailments such as cardiovascular diseases, Diabetes Mellitus, Burma and RTA (life and limb saving treatment, implants, prosthesis). It will also cover end-stage renal diseases and dialysis, chronic infections (Hepatitis), organ failure (Hepatic, Renal, Cardiopulmonary) and cancer treatment (Chemo, Radio and Surgery).

Initially the programme is being started in fifteen districts of the country. Under the programme health care cards will be issued to the beneficiaries on which they will get free medical treatment of seven diseases.

The prime minister was informed that around 63,000 people will be issued health cards through 300 centres in Islamabad and Lahore which have initially been established for the distribution of health cards.

Further, every card holder will be able to avail health facilities worth Rs0.3 million per year; however, in case of exceeding the card limit the patient will be provide financial assistance by Baitul Mal.

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The PM approved this programme in June last year. A provision of Rs1 billion was included in the budget for launching the scheme on a pilot basis which will then be replicated in a large number of districts.

In the first phase the programme will provide free of cost access to hospital/indoor care to 3.1 million families. This will be spread across to families in 23 districts of Pakistan living below the poverty line both for 7 priority and secondary diseases. The districts included in this programme are Narowal, Khanewal, Sargodha, Rahim Yar Khan, Sheikhupura, Badin, Shaheed Benazirabad, Sanghar, Mardan, Malakand, Kohat and Chitral. In addition Quetta, Loralai, Lesbela, Kech, Muzaffarabad, Kotli, Diamer, Skardu, Bajaur Agency, Khyber Agency and ICT are also included.

Federal Ministers Ishaq Dar, Khurram Dastagir, Minister of State for Interior Baleeghur Rehman, Minister for CADD Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry and Maryam Nawaz Sharif were also present.

COMMENTS (41)

Abdul Haleem | 7 years ago | Reply how and from where we can get this cards

dr faisal | 8 years ago | Reply How and from where we can get this cards?

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fida muhammad | 8 years ago | Reply I agreed this program

sohbat | 8 years ago | Reply Good work

Afaq | 8 years ago | Reply How and from where we can get this cards?

Noomy | 8 years ago | Reply How and from where we can get this cards?

Lakshman | 8 years ago | Reply Deep from heart ,salute to our PM . The programme is good , @the sucess of programme is dependent on implementation . Another suggestion privatise all government hospital ,earn rents from government hospital ,and pay these rents to insurance groups to give full fledged services to poor people rather than selective health issues. . this way all hospitals quality will improve .

Tahir Khan | 8 years ago | Reply @Abdullah: Brother nice to know your feelings. Sorry to say you have made some wild assumptions about my intent. I am for poor people as this is my profession. I keep a good amount for charity in my practice for poor patients. For cards there is a procedure which you don't know but praised the most corrupt Government like PPP in the history of Pakistan. Metro is a misplaced priority. When in Rawalpindi Rats are biting new born child, no safe drinking water and no electricity and you are setting up metro in billions does not make sense. IK individual efforts like others you mentioned are worth more praising than Govt who is using our -Taxpayer money to launch their projects. I take no offence brother but dont support corruption in our Country. This is a curse which is eating away our country. The proof about your Metro is that the Engineer incharge of the project has fled the Country. What do you say about it? Regards Tahir

Abdullah | 8 years ago | Reply @DR Tahir Khan.Doing thing on individual basis and doing it on gov level is completly different.On individual level we should talk about edhi and mushtaq chapra ( TCF ) as well. And for the distribution of cards there is a procedure.Doctor sahib dont be so negative.Whenever the poor gets a facility for health or metro bus facility we midlle class and the rich people cant bear it and get so jealous that we become negativite.try living like a poor for 1 day in life.You will understand it .Doctor saheb lets critices when wrong things are done but not for the sake of criticism or because u support a diff politcal party.Lets support humaity in 2016 and not poitical parties.Thsi is not meant to offend u.But just an opinion.

Dr Tahir Khan | 8 years ago | Reply @Nearly Ex PTI Supporter: I am sorry to read your remarks without evidence. I am a senior doctor come from UK. what IK did for Pakistan in the form of cancer hospitals is much bigger project than 'National Health care program". You have ignored it totally. I will ask you one question how will the cards be distributed? to the people of PMLN only or there is a lottery system for poor? How can you ensure the distribution of health cards is a fair system? Regards Dr Khan

Haji Atiya | 8 years ago | Reply @Rashid: why are you jealous of Sharifcare ?? Instead of criticizing, offer something productive !

optimist | 8 years ago | Reply Those who think it is because of Imran Khan, in fact this programme was prepared and about to be rolled (I remember reading an editorial in a leading English newspaper) when PTI dharna started. I was telling my friends that PML N will give a shock to PTI by announcing this medical insurace while dharna was going on. But Qadri/PTI alliance became so serious that the government actually couldn't do anything (even Chinese and Sri Lankan PM stayed away). . Imran Khan gets credit for wasting year and a half of Pakistan when the country needed it really bad. Mark my words, this programme is well researched. There will be some issues in the beginning but providing free healthcare to 10 crore (eventually) low income Pakistanis is not easy!

Umar | 8 years ago | Reply Health plan in a country where govt hospitals not even have enough beds, doctors and nurses? Seriously man. How the hack on earth this plans actually gonna work? Where those poor people go for treatment when there is not actual proper health system existed. This plan make no sense like any other plans of this government and Surely this plan gonna fail like any other stupid plan of this government. Nandipur for starters.

N K Ali | 8 years ago | Reply Haaah! Only electorate speeches mark the occasion. Time will tell what really is the face of the health program. Frankly, it's an eyewash for getting votes. Salams

blackberry | 8 years ago | Reply Although i am not PML N fan, i really appreciate Mian sahab's effort for poor and disabled people.

imran ghori | 8 years ago | Reply Good decession of nawaz,,, it's true nawaz working hard just bcz of imran khan after losing lodrhan election,,,, good for punjab province,,, sad in karachi and interior sindh no alternate available both carroupt party's MQM and PPP got vote through sindhi and mahajir difference,, after imran khan emergence in Lahore everyone can see difference in Lahore and karachi

Raisani | 8 years ago | Reply @H Chaudhry: Chaudhry Sahab, i would definitely look into some therapy but you also need to come out of your fiefdom and bother to look into ground realities Chaudhry Sahab, how many of your kamiis will get this health insurance card? Probably none. So tell Mian Sahab to stop playing these cards games. And work genuinely for the poor and your kamiis. Chaudhry Sahab.

Rashid | 8 years ago | Reply I am a doctor.. the system being implemented is flawed. The problem is not giving money to sick. The main problem is to reform the health sector. Primary health care is non existent in our country. The government operated tertiary care centers are under equipped and understaffed. The best tertiary centers in Punjab are at secondary or lower levels if we compare them with international levels. Giving few billions directly to sick instead of investing in health sector reform and infrastructure is a political gimmick. Trade mark of PML N .

Saif | 8 years ago | Reply Have worked for more than a decade in health dept, its just a waste of money. Why not to develop the govt health sector or establish new health facilities? How this money goes along the drain, lets wait & see.

H Chaudhry | 8 years ago | Reply @Raisani You should look in to some therapy that will fix your negative nature. Good thing is that people like you are getting less in numbers. @Zubair No its not because of Imran khan, actually nothing is because of imran. He is irrelevent and Govt is doing what it promised to do. Imran means nothing.

Ahmed Ali khan | 8 years ago | Reply @Talha: Mian sahib is scared of PTI by what happened in Lodhran. Inspite of bribing of 2.5 arab rupees package people have voted for PTI.Therefore they decided to do something for people though it will be on paper only. Seeing is believing. One thing for sure Mian sb is not sincere when it comes to spend on people.

Nearly Ex PTI Supporter | 8 years ago | Reply @ raider: I guess you have missed the point in my description. What I am trying to share (not whine) is my analysis of the performance of PTI vs PML N. Being a Chartered Accountant and CFA has helped me in my analysis of Economic figures while the Social indicators are plain to read for any follower of History with politics. There is a huge "expectation gap" and "delivery gap" in PTI performance both in Pakistan and KPK in specific. Any growth of society starts with Economic liberation of masses. Creating a large and independent consumer base encourages further growth and industry. This creates capital, tax revenue and most importantly funds to deliver changes in education, health and sanitation. KPK still has many villages without any facilities so clearly while the Police reforms are commendable they are not correct in the priority list. The KPK PTI administration should have multi tasked. Survey reports are useful but do not take into account real growth i-e monetary, fiscal and monetary and focuses more on no financials e.g how quick was the process etc. Again it is commendable but PTI is missing the key priority in the jigsaw. I expect a lot better from a team of Asad Umar, Shah Mahmood Quershi and Imran Khan. Hope things are clearer to you now.

Naveed | 8 years ago | Reply It is hard to believe what Prime Minister is saying given the state of government hospitals in the country. As usual, it sounds more like an effort to attract media attention to pretend the government is helping the poor.

NY | 8 years ago | Reply This program will be called a success if PM and his family start going to govt hospitals for treatment, not Dubai, London & New York.

Doctor on duty | 8 years ago | Reply Dear PM and his advisors, As a medical professional who has been affiliated with the largest Govt sector hospital in Punjab, may I remind you that the hoax of "free treatment" has been going on for past many years. Yes, people walk in and get treated for free here, and we the doctors are happy to serve, but the overall infrastructure at govt hospitals is at the verge of collapse! The quality of medications and their availability is a huge question mark year round! Surgical equipments, interventional machinery and operation facilities are scarce and not upto mark. One would think free treatment benifits all but does it really? Its a tragedy that the govt fails to realize that more tertiary hospitals are needed to cater to the ever increasing patient load and that funds need to be directed here instead of any place else for up gradation of hospitals to resuscitate the health provision network in general. I believe that health insurance policies would be futile if these urgent steps are not taken. For instance, what use will it be that my poor countrymen can afford an MRI scan if MRI machine is not even available at a tertiary hospital mr PM? And that is true for Mayo Hospital, the largest hospital of Pakistan. Admitted patients have to wait months, thats right months to get an Echocardiography here. Lets be reasonable and realistic. What good is insurance and free treatment if the patient cannot even live to see the day! Any doctor will tell you how important an urgent echocardiography is to a parient of Cardiac Disease. At the end of the day, our hospitals are a place where treatment is declared free, but its availability still comes at a cost! Kindly have sensible advisors for national health policies and proceed with caution and wisdom. This is not a road in Lahore that can be built, then broken after a few months later for a flyover.

Ch. Allah Daad | 8 years ago | Reply A very important step. It will silence critics who were bashing him on his historic infrastructure building initiatives.

Point | 8 years ago | Reply What about lower middle class people!! we pay heavy bills, we have low income, we are provided almost zero facility :/. In Pakistan either the rich earns or a businessman. I applied for a scholarship program of USAID. the criteria was poor, 70% of the selected students were children of businessman. The simply provided document saying their income is well below 70,000. Meanwhile leaving the university in 1600CC cars. Good job!! we are suffering as lower middle class, and the rich business class enjoying the pleasure of support available for poor and the one available for rich

raider | 8 years ago | Reply Mr. pm where is stayed your program of 100 billion debt for youth, still applicants yawning, thanks keep it up your old torn political gimmicks, but it is life line for trolls after nandipur used to comment like thank you mian sb, pmln zindabad

raider | 8 years ago | Reply @Nearly Ex PTI Supporter: dear what you want to say? a conservative whining searching excuses for voting against any change. Govt of kpk has performed well than all govt even a recent survey revealed, if you don't like to absorb then what we can do, keep in mind also situation of the province, its resources and assistance of federal govt (rather a leg pulling). have you questioned ever what have been done by these old rotten billionaires in 6 turns

Tipu | 8 years ago | Reply Where is youth loan program? Sasti roti? Danish schools? This is just another gimmick.

Parvez | 8 years ago | Reply Lets hope this does not turn into another BISP.......

Saleem | 8 years ago | Reply Take tougher decisions to address the root issues instead of spending money on nomenclature and running expensive ad campaigns. Most senior doctors at government hospitals are running private practices. Why would they treat someone for free ??

zubair | 8 years ago | Reply If it were not for Imran Khan we would not be seeing this initiative. Lets hope corruption mafia does not get involved in this one as well.

Bisma | 8 years ago | Reply

Hope that health program by PM will be successful

Dr Ahsan | 8 years ago | Reply Guys Mark this date on ur calender : 31st December 2015... V will discuss about this programme after 6 months...

Nearly Ex PTI Supporter | 8 years ago | Reply This is progress and just what Pakistan needs! Welldone Prime Minister. Pakistan needs this positivity and growth and well done for understanding the importance of Economic and Social development. As a PTI supporter in 2013 elections, I am greatly disappointed by the conduct and performance of PTI so far. They claimed change in multi dimensions which included Economic, Social and Political aspects. They have failed me and my vote by wasting it in hollow political slogans *(reminds me of PPP) and protest movements. Looking at the performance in the article above I have not seen how many jobs were created, what percentage of children are going to schools, how many schools were built in actual and not part of cosmetic planning and restructuring. What is the increase in the overall economic growth of the KPK province and what increase have KPK house holds seen in their income over the last 2.5 years of this tabdili. Please start serving the people in a serious manner and not run the administration like a University student union.

Talha | 8 years ago | Reply Why is he working on health? We need good roads we needs new motorways for better transportation. We needs railway tracks and metros in every big city What kind of priorities this government have...

Raisani | 8 years ago | Reply Mian ji. It's another gimmick. Nothing else.

abdullah | 8 years ago | Reply My vote for PMLN in 2018.

Ali | 8 years ago | Reply This is a great initiative. If the program works it will totally change Pakistan's health system. And the less privileged will finally get some concrete relief in terms of medical costs.

Kaleem | 8 years ago | Reply A very good initiative, bravo PM! However: 1) The cards will be issued to 63000 people initially. Make that number 1 million please, there are so many in rural areas needing these cards. 2) Expand it to all semi urban cities and towns as well, make the number of cities to 100+ in a year. An additional 20-30 billion per year will be required for this, so be it. Health and Education comes first!

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