Hospitals in capital to go online: Mirza

First-ever health information portal launched in the capital

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr. Zafar Mirza, on Friday, said that health centers in the federal capital would be linked through computers to improve service delivery.

The Health Ministry, under the leadership of Dr Mirza, launched the first-ever health information portal, titled ‘Pakistan Health Knowledge Hub’ (PHKH).

“We have initiated the process of transforming the healthcare system of the federal capital and this will be made a model for other cities and provinces,” he said during the launching ceremony of PHKH in Islamabad.

The launch was attended by the representatives of the Federal Health Ministry, officials from the Provincial Departments of Health, USAID, JSI, Unicef and other public health professionals.

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On this occasion, Dr Mirza said he endorsed the efforts of the Health Ministry in developing a one-stop portal for essential government documents, reports, strategies and legislation documents related to the health sector.

He further added that we must make a mental shift in order to effectively utilise and implement the available information from routine public sector practice to ensuring real time availability of information through the knowledge hub.

He emphasised that the ministry needs to internally institutionalise this initiative and make all possible efforts to keep the knowledge hub updated with new information and documents. Dr Mirza encouraged the provincial representatives to take ownership of the knowledge hub at the provincial level and for ensuring smooth progress and sustainability of this initiative.

Dr Mirza further added that Pakistan Health Knowledge Hub is an open access resource and will function as a technical resource for government officials, academics, researchers, policy developers, and decision makers besides all members of the general public.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 13^th, 2019.