ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) has said over 400,000 people have so far been treated in 300 hospitals across Pakistan under the Sehat Sahulat Programme.

The programme is the largest health protection initiative in Pakistan and is a part of the prime minister’s Ehsaas initiative which is working to bring poor families out of poverty, said ministry spokesperson Sajid Shah.

“Some of the procedures conducted under the programme include 7,000 cardiac procedures, 5,000 cancer management, 100,000 dialysis, 25,000 deliveries, including C-sections, and 90,000 gynecological procedures,” he said.Mr Shah said the programme provides services to almost nine million families, including 53,480 families in Islamabad, 4,226,580 families in Punjab, 257,121 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, 42,850 in Gilgit-Baltistan, 1,211,420 in the newly merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 1.4 million households of KP and 314,650 families in Tharparkar, Sindh.

“Services included in the programme are major cardiac surgeries, cases of trauma and accidents, burns, dialysis, renal failure complications and other indoor healthcare services including normal delivery and C-section,” he said.

Success of the programme can be seen from the 97pc satisfaction rate of beneficiaries which is done through a third-party verification system, he said, adding the government expected to enroll a total of 14 million poor and marginalised families during the year 2020.

Moreover, any Pakistani can check their eligibility status by texting their CNIC number to 8500.

Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2020