Devolution to improve health services at grass root level in K-P

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Health Minister Dr Hisham Inamullah Khan lauds KMU for setting up family medicine dept

PESHAWAR: Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Health Minister Dr Hisham Inamullah Khan said on Thursday that government was focusing to improve public health system to prevent communicable and non-communicable diseases and build a healthy society.

He expressed these views during first public health conference, held at Khyber Medical University, Peshawar. The conference was attended by faculty members, students, members of Public Health Association as well as delegates from Nanjing Medical University China, UK, WHO Iraq and representatives of Unicef, World Food Programme and International Commission for Red Cross (ICRC).

Addressing the occasion, health minister said that primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare system will be improved, while to improve governance in the health sector, powers will be devolved to the lowest level that will have far reaching effects and benefit the public at their doorstep with quality health facilities. For the purpose regional health authorities were made to strengthen health delivery system at the local level.

Dr Hisham said KP was first to introduce health policy in the province and it was a great achievement.

He also praised the Khyber Medical University for high-quality education and research. “I am impressed by the highly qualified foreign trained faculty members in the field of public health,” he expressed adding that in collaboration with health department, faculty of Public Health was working closely to address the multiple issues related to public health in K-P.

Health minister also congratulated KMU in making the new department of family medicine within the faculty of Public Health. This first of its kind diploma will empower the medical officers, mainly selected from the department of Health staff working in BHU and RHC across K-P, he added. Dr. Hisham asked the health experts to share with us all the recommendations regarding public health improvement and we will seriously consider them. He also shared the salient features of the first public health policy of KP.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 1^st, 2019.