PESHAWAR, June 28: The NWFP government has allocated Rs2.935 billion for the health sector in the financial year 2002-03.

The amount allocated in the provincial budget which was announced here on Friday, is 15.18 per cent more than the budget estimates of the financial year 2001-2 and 12.16 per cent over and above the revised budgetary estimates for the out-going financial year.

According to the budget document, the government has planned to appoint 2,000 lady health workers and 350 doctors to improve the healthcare system in the next year. Besides, necessary equipments would also be provided to all 24 district headquarters hospitals, while another 35 healthcare institutions, including the DHQs and civil hospitals, would be revived.

More than 40 per cent of the children below the age of two years, have not been fully immunised, while the infant mortality and maternal mortality rates are comparatively high. During the next fiscal year, the expanded programme for immunization would be launched while efforts would be made to expand malaria, TB and AIDS control programmes and special attention would also paid to family health.

There are 761 and 1,188 staffers working under the Malaria control and the EPI programmes, which would be provided fresh training to be used as multi-purpose health workers. While 1,491 dispensers would also be provided training of male nurses and medical technicians.

The budgetary allocation for the teaching hospitals — Lady Reading Hospital, Khyber Teaching Hospital, Hayatabad Medical Complex and Ayub Medical Complex — have been frozen after they were granted financial and administrative autonomy, and these hospitals would be provided grant-in-aid in lump sum. The allocated amount to these hospitals is; LRH Rs267.648 million; KTH Rs223.519 million; HMC Rs146.212 million and ATH will get Rs124.283 million.

Allocations have also been made for non-salary budgetary requirements, as well as increase in the salary due to revision in pay scales. An amount of Rs1,315.849 million has been allocated for primary health under the Social Action Programme, while for non-salary expenditures Rs1,086.217 have been allocated. For health expenditures other than SAP, an amount of Rs1,006 million has been allocated for salary and Rs612.882 million have been allocated for non-salary.

Health sector has been exempted from ban on purchase of machinery and equipments. According to budget document, Rs175.298 million have been allocated for medicines; Rs79.277 million for consumable items; Rs27.685 million for repair and maintenance; Rs168.043 million for electricity charges and Rs13.798 million for gas charges.

An amount of Rs256.660 million has been projected to be raised from receipts, including OPD tickets, laboratory, X-ray etc.

To overcome the shortage of staff, the Health Department has been allowed to make appointments on the vacant posts of doctors, nurses, paramedics and LHVs. Additional posts of teaching staff are being created for Gomal and Saidu Sharif, while 130 more posts of the trainee medical officers have been created in the local teaching hospitals.

Stipend for all the 250 RMOs has been increased from Rs4,880 to Rs6,210 per month while the stipend for house-job doctors has also been increased from Rs3,880 to Rs5,000 per month. Out of the 246 posts declared surplus during the reconstruction process, 152 have been adjusted and 94 have been sent to surplus pool.   The NWFP government will spend an amount of Rs522.959 million on the development schemes in health sector during the 2002-03 financial year.

Of the projected amount to be spent on development projects in the health sector, Rs167.859 million would come from foreign aid/loans, whereas the remaining amount of Rs355 million would be spent under the province’s annual development programme — funded by provincial resources.