KARACHI, April 1: Sindh Health Minister Maj-Gen (retd) Ehsan Ahmed has directed the authorities concerned to launch a pilot project for inducting general practitioners into the TB control programme.

He asked the authorities to launch the project in North Nazimabad and associate with the programme at least 30 to 40 general practitioners located in the surroundings of the TB & Chest Clinic of the area.

The authorities were further directed to train those doctors in DOTS and declare their clinics TB clinics, where the health department would distribute free medicines among the patients of tuberculosis.

The minister issued these directives at a high-level meeting, held here on Monday, to review the progress of TB control programme.

The pilot project will last for eight months and will be supervised by Dr Ashraf Sadiq, the director of the Ojha Sanatorium, and deputy director Amanullah.

The minister said if the scheme succeeded, it would be expanded to other parts of Karachi and rest of the province. Like the general practitioners, the NGOs could also be involved in the execution of DOTS, he added.—PPI