Health ministry: Devolution on the cards

Regulatory body at federal level regulate and monitor medicines, manufacturing, registration, licensing and pricing.

ISLAMABAD:

The Inter-Provincial Coordination Ministry has finalised the draft for the devolution of health ministry under the 18th amendment which will be presented before the upcoming cabinet meeting for approval. A notification will be issued after the draft’s approval, sources in the health ministry told The Express Tribune on Sunday.

About 15,000 employees of the ministry will be adjusted in the various departments. A regulatory body will be formed at federal level to regulate and monitor thousands of medicines, their manufacturing, registration, licensing and pricing.

The sources said that according to the draft plan, National Institute of Health (NIH), Pakistan Medical Research Council (PMRC), Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), National Council for Homeopathy and all federal hospitals including Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), Polyclinic, National Institute for Rehabilitative Medicines (NIRM) and 35 dispensaries will most likely be divided among the newly created Capital Administration and the Development Division (CADD), Cabinet Division, Economic Affairs Division and Ministry of Inter-provincial Coordination.

All national programmes will most likely be handed over to the provinces but they will continue to receive funds and technical assistance by the federal government.

The programmes include the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), Pakistan National Hepatitis Control Programme, Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health (MNCH), National TB Control Programme (NTP), and National AIDS Control Programme (NACP).

The Tobacco Control Cell will also be devolved and a special cell has been established at the Prime Minter’s Secretariat to monitor prevalence of polio in the country. The employees, who were on deputation, will be sent back to their parent departments. Besides this some of the employees in the federal health ministry will be sent to surplus pool.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 27^th, 2011.