LAHORE, May 24: Punjab Governor Khalid Maqbool on Tuesday launched Directly Observed Short-Course Therapy (DOTS) programme throughout the province to fight against tuberculosis and said it would be completely eradicated within the next two years.

He was addressing the 9th-quarterly surveillance workshop of District Tuberculosis Coordination, Punjab at the Administrative Staff College here on Tuesday.

He said Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was focusing on improving health sector all over the country. He said the prime minister had earmarked Rs2 billion rupees to fight against hepatitis.

He said the DOTS scheme would prove instrumental in eliminating tuberculosis from society and advised that the district governments should also be associated with the programme to ensure its implementation at grassroots level.

The governor thanked the donor countries for their contribution in curbing the disease.

Khalid Maqbool said the basic principles such as cleanliness should be promoted for healthy life style and said the concept of safe motherhood should also be promoted.

Speaking on the occasion, Federal Health Minister Naseer Ahmed Khan said the health budget had been enhanced from Rs3.4 billion to Rs8.2 billion. The president had earmarked Rs2.95 billion to fight against hepatitis.

Provincial Health Minister Tahir Ali Javed and National TB Control Programme Manager Syed Karam Shah also spoke on this occasion.

Later, the chief guest distributed shields and certificates among district health coordinators for their performance in launching the DOTS programme. —APP