Health: Rs63 billion allocated for health services

LAHORE:

The Punjab government has earmarked Rs63.99 billion for health services in the province for 2013-14. Of this amount, Rs45.99b has been allocated to meet current expenditures. The development budget reserved for health and family planning services is Rs17b.

Of the 45.99b in current expenditures, Rs42.34b has been earmarked for general hospital services, Rs561.58m for special hospital services, Rs88.64 million for chemical examiner and labs, Rs1.38b for administration and Rs1.62b for professional technical universities and colleges. Rs4b has been earmarked for the health insurance cards special initiative in four districts as a pilot project. The largest chunk of allocation reserved in the development budget for health in the Punjab for financial year 2013-14 is in the head of block allocation which means that nobody, but the chief minister, can decide how and where to spend it. Rs5.27 billion has been reserved as block allocation. Rs8.69 billion has been reserved for ongoing schemes and Rs8.30 billion for new schemes.

Several smaller new schemes have been mentioned. These include preventive and primary health care (Rs2.05b), accelerated program for health care (Rs142m), tertiary care hospitals (Rs641m), medical education (Rs18.429m), research and development (Rs30m), devolved projects, population welfare (Rs150m) and block allocations (Rs5.27b).

Among on-going projects, Rs790m has been allocated for preventive and primary health, Rs1.63b for accelerated programme for health care, Rs4.53b for tertiary care hospitals, Rs1.40b for medical education, Rs280.6m for research and development, and Rs38.82m for devolved projects.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 18^th, 2013.