Polio-free: Health minister hails 2016 as successful

Various development projects had been completed in Punjab, eradicating polio

LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Khwaja Salman Rafique said that 2016 was a successful year for the health sector as Punjab remained polio free. Talking to the media on Tuesday, he said a polio free province was proof that routine immunization, under the EPI Programme, and anti-polio campaigns were successful.

Rafique said Chief Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif was personally monitoring the performance of the Health department. He said various development projects had been completed in Punjab and construction work on many others was underway.

Rafique disclosed that 500-bed teaching hospitals were being constructed with medical colleges in Sialkot, Gujranwala, Sahiwal and Dera Ghazi Khan. He pointed out that the Drug Testing Laboratory (DTL) of Lahore had been completed, while that of Multan is to be upgraded by experts of Turkish health authorities.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 28^th, 2016.