Relief for newsvendors

In its effort to provide social justice, the government has come up with yet another welfare measure for the weaker section of society. On Thursday, Federal Minister for Information Shibli Faraz announced a financial package for the newspaper sellers from the Baitul Maal. Under the assistance package, each newspaper seller will be provided with a free medical facility of up to Rs600,000 a year, an interest-free loan of Rs60,000, and Baitul Maal will bear the  educational expenses of the children of newspaper hawkers. Representatives of newspaper sellers’ union and Baitul Maal officials will supervise the scheme.

Such an amount under the head of medical cover is significant in a developing country where most people find access to healthcare difficult, and for many medicare is unaffordable. This assistance package will greatly help the limited income group of newspaper sellers especially at these trying times of the long-persisting coronavirus pandemic. The worst sufferers of Covid-19 are vulnerable segments of society like newspaper sellers. This is another important step that this government has taken to help out those whom previous governments ignored as if they existed only to elect them to assemblies.

Earlier, the PTI government introduced universal health insurance cards in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province and the scheme is well underway in Punjab province. Health is the topmost priority in human life, yet in Pakistan as much as 90% of people’s health costs are personally, individually. Formerly, when people needed hospitalisation, they had to think about the cost, but now they don’t have to worry on this account. But there are other provinces too in Pakistan. Unfortunately, governments in these provinces instead of joining in the initiative continue with their careless attitude towards the people’s health and welfare. They either care for a big raise in their own salaries and those of the bureaucracy. They lack funds for even garbage lifting, and a dirty environment is a good breeding ground for mosquitoes. It looks like Malaria for All.