National health policy on the cards: Tarar

Federal minister says polio cases in FATA dropped by 92%

PESHAWAR: Federal Minister of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination  Saira Afzal Tarar said the Centre plans on introducing a national health policy for the country.

She was speaking to the media at the polio control cell in the city on Wednesday.

“Our country does not have a national health policy and donors always refuse countries lacking the same,” Tarar said.

According to the federal minister, the country has achieved its objectives to control tuberculosis. However, she pointed out it was the only objective out of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals which has been achieved. She added the federal health ministry aims to eradicate diseases such as polio in collaboration with the K-P government.

Tarar said the provincial health ministry is running a health policy for four districts. She said besides this, the prime minister’s health insurance policy will also be introduced and the programme would be extended to the same districts of K-P.

“A sharp 92% drop in polio cases has been recorded in Federally Administered Tribal Areas and there is no reason that children from the tribal areas cannot be inoculated as the region is now accessible,” Tarar said.

When asked about polio cases from Afghanistan, she said, “We cannot impose restrictions and will adopt a strategy whereby children will be immunised upon entry to Pakistan.”

Speaking on the occasion, K-P Minister for Health Shahram Khan Tarakai said the relevant authorities held a meeting regarding the campaign against poliovirus in K-P and Fata.



“Our concern is how to eradicate polio from the country,” Tarakai said. “The federal and provincial governments are making collective efforts for this purpose.”

According to Tarakai, a series of initiatives to eradicate other diseases were also discussed.

“Poliovirus cases have decreased by 46% this year,” he said. “This is an achievement. I am confident that we will be able to defeat the virus.” Tarakai said a total of eight cases were confirmed in Peshawar this year.

“Only two of these cases were reported from Peshawar, while the rest were children from Afghanistan,” he said. “Meanwhile, children from tribal areas were administered polio drops in camps and other districts where they resided after leaving their homeland due to a military offensive.”

The total number of polio cases in the country for 2015 is 29 with 13 from K-P, four each from Balochistan and Sindh and eight from the tribal areas.

Provincial matter

In a statement later issued by the federal health ministry, Tarar was quoted as saying that “after the 18th Amendment, implementation of policies in the health sector is a provincial subject.”

As per the statement, the federal government is providing support in terms of interprovincial coordination, planning, standardisation and regulation, international collaboration and resource mobilisation.”

“Since diseases do not know borders, there is a need for closer collaboration among the provinces and federal government,” read the statement.

Tarakai was quoted as saying both the federal and K-P governments agreed to expedite work on a national health vision document that provides broad guidelines and sets new standards.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 20^th, 2015.