The phrase, ‘Health is Wealth’ in not unfamiliar, but ensuring provision of healthcare facilities to the masses across Sindh seems to be a Herculean task. While we brace ourselves for the next round of elections under the present caretaker administration, one cannot ignore the efforts initiated by the Sindh government especially for the healthcare facilities in the province.
The 2017 population census declared the Sindh population at over 47 million. Sindh also remains prone to natural disasters and catastrophes. Just last year the Sindh and rest of the country faced the worst floods in the history of the country. Each of these unfortunate occurrences leaves a trail of diseases in the wake of the calamity, be it vector borne diseases, water borne diseases or other types of health concerns. Whether communicable or non-communicable, Sindh, like any other major province, was hit by the outbreak of all diseases.
Unsurprisingly then, addressing healthcare needs would attract top priority for any government intending to leave an indelible mark on the people it promises to serve. It is quite heartening to note various projects that are currently underway to better the healthcare system within the province and to make medical health either free or affordable to the people of Sindh and beyond.
Read Significant grants proposed for healthcare institutes
The National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), Gambat Institute of Medical Sciences, Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) are all excellent examples that continue to serve the population with unwavering commitment and resolve.
Instances where patients cannot afford to pay are also provisioned for, whether through private donations or with subsidised rates on treatments.
Read more Healthcare to reach every nook and cranny of Sindh
Total outlay of Sindh budget for the fiscal year 2023-24 was set at Rs2,247.581 billion a major portion of which was attributed to helping those harmed by the floods of 2022 and giving social protection to the poor. The Sindh government allocated Rs214.547 billion for the healthcare sector.
Earlier this year, former chief minister Syed Murad Ali Shah announced a detailed plan in his budget speech for various allocations to be made towards different healthcare facilities across the province including adding significant funds amounting to Rs10.102 billion with a net increase of six per cent for nine vertical programmes operational during the course of the upcoming financial year.
Also attributed was a provision of Rs13.252 billion for medical education, grants and stipends of medical universities.
Recognising the need to attract and induct greater number for individuals engaged within the medical sector, rates and stipends for postgraduate students and house job officers stood revised.
The World Bank Factsheet issued at the end of last year narrates both the gaps and the successes in the overall state of the Sindh health system. It cites the Sindh Integrated Health and Population Project as being aimed at helping improve the quality of basic reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health and nutrition services.
It also states, the project to be set to improve the overall healthcare services for people through use of the infrastructure of government dispensaries in remote and urban suburbs especially in settlements affected or still recovering from the effects of the 2022 floods.
Earlier this year, the Sindh government partnered with a leading healthcare charity to establish a 1,350-bed hospital in Korangi area of Karachi to provide free-of-charge treatment to patients who cannot afford medical treatment.
The project spearheaded by the Sindh government, the Indus Hospital and the Health Network, aims at building the facility in five years and with an estimated cost of Rs24 billion.
Another milestone was achieved around June 2023 with the foundation laying ceremony for the construction of the Central Hospital Karachi. An allocation of Rs4 billion for the hospital was announced by the government to aide in the construction of the hospital. Whilst catering to healthcare needs of the community, the hospital will also boast a nursing school and a community centre.
Sindh’s major reform agenda has focused on optimising an all-hands-on-deck approach and launched a major drive to improve the quality, availability, accessibility and affordability of state-of-the-art healthcare services across the province.
The specific focus on healthcare is an ambitious and much needed initiative that needs to continue unadulterated and uninterrupted to ensure that the core of the healthcare sector remains strong and continues to evolve.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 27th, 2023.
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