Health budget likely to be less than last year
LAHORE:
The Punjab government will spend Rs133 per person on the health of around 90 million people of the province next year. This translates to 40 paisas per day.
According to Health Department officials, the government is likely to allocate Rs6.3 billion for health in the 2010-2011 budget. In addition, under the National Finance Commission (NFC) formula, it will get a 51 per cent share from the federal government from the latter’s allocation for health. This comes to around Rs11 billion. The total planned spending on health for the province would thus be around Rs17.3 billion, compared to Rs22 billion last year.
Pakistan Medical Association central joint secretary Dr Shahid Malik is not impressed with the allocation. He told The Express Tribune on Sunday that out of the current year’s allocation, the government had surrendered nearly 40 per cent of the funds because they were likely to remain un-utilised.
He deplored that the federal government had already reduced by 27 per cent its health budget. As a result the Punjab government would have to make a corresponding reduction. “Divided equally amongst the people of the Punjab, this comes to 40 paisas per person per day,” he pointed out.
Malik said that Third World countries like Pakistan should spend the equivalent of 4 per cent of their GDP on health. It was regrettable that we were actually spending only 1.1 per cent.
He criticised the Punjab government for leaving unutilised over 40 per cent of the funds allocated in the budget and spending the amount on “task forces and other useless programmes”.
He said that the PMA “has not seen any projects and development schemes in the upcoming provincial budget.” The PMA official feared in fiscal year 2010-11 too the government would again spend most of the health funds on activities of task forces and some similar useless programmes and projects. He alleged that during the last year the Health Department had expenditure irregularities worth Rs1 billion in the Punjab Aids Control Programme alone.
Malik said that the Directorate of Health had sought a development budget of Rs860 million. The budget for non-development expenditures came to Rs809 million.
Non development funds would be spent on salaries of the DG office staff, public health nursing schools, workshops, food laboratories, drug tests, the mental centre, the TB hospitals, the Yakki Gate Hospital, the hospital at the Governor’s House, the provincial laboratories and a bacteriologist.
The development allocation would be spent on projects under the Directorate of Health. This includes Rs100 million for the Expanded Programme on Immunisation, Rs45 million for malaria control, Rs200 million for TB control, Rs51 million for dengue control, Rs5 million for the World Food Programme projects, Rs111 million for the Nutrition Support Programme, Rs225 million for the Hepatitis Control Programme, Rs2 million for the mobile food testing laboratories, Rs5 million for a government public analyst, Rs23 million for PCR-based diagnostics and Rs40 million for the health management system.
Published in the Express Tribune, June 14th, 2010.
The Punjab government will spend Rs133 per person on the health of around 90 million people of the province next year. This translates to 40 paisas per day.
According to Health Department officials, the government is likely to allocate Rs6.3 billion for health in the 2010-2011 budget. In addition, under the National Finance Commission (NFC) formula, it will get a 51 per cent share from the federal government from the latter’s allocation for health. This comes to around Rs11 billion. The total planned spending on health for the province would thus be around Rs17.3 billion, compared to Rs22 billion last year.
Pakistan Medical Association central joint secretary Dr Shahid Malik is not impressed with the allocation. He told The Express Tribune on Sunday that out of the current year’s allocation, the government had surrendered nearly 40 per cent of the funds because they were likely to remain un-utilised.
He deplored that the federal government had already reduced by 27 per cent its health budget. As a result the Punjab government would have to make a corresponding reduction. “Divided equally amongst the people of the Punjab, this comes to 40 paisas per person per day,” he pointed out.
Malik said that Third World countries like Pakistan should spend the equivalent of 4 per cent of their GDP on health. It was regrettable that we were actually spending only 1.1 per cent.
He criticised the Punjab government for leaving unutilised over 40 per cent of the funds allocated in the budget and spending the amount on “task forces and other useless programmes”.
He said that the PMA “has not seen any projects and development schemes in the upcoming provincial budget.” The PMA official feared in fiscal year 2010-11 too the government would again spend most of the health funds on activities of task forces and some similar useless programmes and projects. He alleged that during the last year the Health Department had expenditure irregularities worth Rs1 billion in the Punjab Aids Control Programme alone.
Malik said that the Directorate of Health had sought a development budget of Rs860 million. The budget for non-development expenditures came to Rs809 million.
Non development funds would be spent on salaries of the DG office staff, public health nursing schools, workshops, food laboratories, drug tests, the mental centre, the TB hospitals, the Yakki Gate Hospital, the hospital at the Governor’s House, the provincial laboratories and a bacteriologist.
The development allocation would be spent on projects under the Directorate of Health. This includes Rs100 million for the Expanded Programme on Immunisation, Rs45 million for malaria control, Rs200 million for TB control, Rs51 million for dengue control, Rs5 million for the World Food Programme projects, Rs111 million for the Nutrition Support Programme, Rs225 million for the Hepatitis Control Programme, Rs2 million for the mobile food testing laboratories, Rs5 million for a government public analyst, Rs23 million for PCR-based diagnostics and Rs40 million for the health management system.
Published in the Express Tribune, June 14th, 2010.