ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) has finalised all arrangements to launch the Prime Minister’s National Health Programme (PMNHP) in Quetta. Under the programme, 76,000 families will get free of cost medical treatment.

The scheme will be launched by the end of the month or in the first week of May and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will himself inaugurate the programme.

The programme was launched by the prime minister on Dec 31 last year for Islamabad, describing it as the first step in turning Pakistan into a welfare state. The scheme will be expanded to all parts of Punjab, Balochistan, AJK, Gilgit Baltistan and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).

People of Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will not benefit from the initiative because their governments have declined to become part of the federal government’s programme.

A family gets Rs 50,000 for the treatment which begins as soon as a patient is hospitalised under the programme. It includes all kinds of diseases. Moreover, each family can get treatment of up to Rs 250,000 under the category of priority diseases which includes cancer, accident, burn injuries, diabetic complications, heart bypass and infections. Each family can get treatment of Rs300,000 per year and the amount can be doubled in case of emergency. The amount will be contributed by the Pakistan Baitul Mal.

Talking to Dawn, PMNHP Director Dr Faisal Rafiq said that the scheme would provide families with a daily income of less than Rs200, free of cost access medical treatment in selected public and private hospitals through the insurance to be paid by the federal and provincial governments.

“In Quetta 76,000 families have been selected as the poorest according to a survey of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP). Of these families, as many as 24,000 families have been enrolled and the rest will be enrolled within a month,” he said.

“As many as five private hospitals have been selected for a panel in Quetta and efforts are being made to include the Combined Military Hospital (CMH), which is one of the top hospitals of Quetta, in the panel list of hospitals,” he said.

Dr Faisal said that over 60 million people live below poverty line in the country, but the exact number of such people could not be confirmed unless a census was held in the country.

“Quetta will be the third place after Islamabad and Muzaffarabad, where the programme will be launched to provide free medical services to around 76,364 poor beneficiary families,” he said.

After Quetta, the programme will be launched in Bajaur Agency, Kotli, Rahim Yar Khan and other parts of country.

Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2016