Govt to introduce Insaf Medicine Card

Official says 165,365 cases of AIDS, hepatitis, TB registered

LAHORE:

Punjab government is introducing Insaf Medicine Card to facilitate patients of various diseases, including HIV/AIDS, hepatitis and tuberculosis (TB).

This was disclosed by Punjab Primary & Secondary Healthcare Department (P&SHD) Secretary Usman Younus while speaking to the media on Saturday.

He said that Insaf Medicine Card would be provided under the Punjab Sehat Sahulat programme by the provincial government on the direction of Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar.

He further said that the three diseases needed a long-term treatment plan that was very expensive and difficult for the common people to afford.

He highlighted that so far 165,365 cases of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis and TB were registered in different hospitals for treatment, adding that these patients were eligible to get Insaf Medicine Cards through which they would be provided medicines free of charge.

The P&SHD secretary claimed that the department was working on several projects transparently to facilitate people of the province without any discrimination.

Responding to a question, he commented that currently the second wave of the coronavirus disease was a challenge. “The provincial health department is not only creating awareness among the citizens but also collecting proper data of the virus cases so that the patients can be provided the best treatment and the rest of the citizens can be protected.”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 22^nd, 2020.