ISLAMABAD, Dec 4: The government has approved 18 projects costing Rs1 billion in the health sector which will be implemented from next year, Health Minister Mohammad Nasir Khan told reporters here on Thursday.

The projects are Rs190 million burns centre, Rs714 million rehabilitation plan of the children’s hospital at Pims; Rs39.95 million national plan of action for prevention and control of non-communicable diseases, establishment of international radiology suite at a cost of Rs39.7 million and replacement of transmission electron microscope in the department of anatomy, costing Rs38.9 million, at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), Karachi.

Establishment of nephrology and dialysis unit at the National Institute of Child Health (NIH), Karachi, worth Rs30.2 million; PC-I for upgradation of central drugs laboratory, Karachi, (Rs39.2 million); PC-I for purchase of additional land from the CDA for Phase-II of the National Institute of Handicapped (NIHd), Islamabad; upgradation of computers at the NIHd and expansion of the existing network (Rs3.1 million).

Upgradation of wards and purchase of equipment at the JPMC (Rs39.9 million), special repair/maintenance of Pims doctors’ Colony (Rs20.5 million), revised PC-I for integration of mental health into primary care (30.4 million), College of Medical Technology at the JPMC (Rs39.9 million), renovation/alteration at the Central Government Tuberculosis Centre, Rawalpindi, (Rs7.52 million), expansion of the Federal Medical Centre, Quetta, to a fully-fledged hospital at the CGS Colony (Rs284 million), reproductive health project (Rs631.7 million) at the National Health Information Resource Centre (Rs199 million).

In addition, advance nursing courses would be introduced at Pims and Sheikh Zaid Hospital, Lahore.

Referring to his recent visit to Geneva, he said WHO had assured Pakistan of releasing a grant of $200,000 to be used in anti-tobacco campaigns.

About the Saarc health ministers’ conference, he said all the countries had discussed the issue of traditional system of medicines (TSM) relating to quality control and standardization of the drugs (homeopathy and Tibb), intellectual property rights besides agreeing on regional cooperation in this area.

Director-general health Maj-Gen Mohammad Aslam (retired) explained that Pakistan intended to mainstream TSM in the national healthcare system for which an act would also be enacted soon.