LARKANA: The doctors, paramedics and other hospital staff hired by the Integrated Health Services (IHS) for outsourced health facilities functioning in the interior of Sindh took to the streets of Larkana on Thursday against Sindh government’s move to abrogate a 10-year agreement with the service providers without officially assigning any reason.

Fearing their retrenchment, a large number of IHS workers holding placards and banners marched along the streets of Larkana and urged the provincial government to honour its deal with the IHS in order to save the livelihood of over 4,000 people and maintain the “visible improvement” brought about at the 111 health facilities in the rural areas of Sindh.

Led by Babar Abro, Momal Mangi, Fauzia Bhutto and others, they raised slogans in support of their demands at the demonstration outside the local press club.

Speaking to them, their leaders said that the IHS had recruited several thousand medical professionals and lower-cadre staff to run these health facilities and bring about an improvement in their services and environment under a 10-year public-private partnership deal. However, they regretted, the Sindh government had stopped

releasing funds to the IHS and intended to abrogate the deal half way. As many as 1,100 IHS employees were working in the health facilities of Larkana district alone, they said.

Unrest prevails as funds for services stopped by Sindh government, salaries not paid since April

“The health department is contemplating to terminate the agreement,” they said, and apprehended that all the IHS employees would be sacked.

“If there is any issue with the IHS, the Sindh government ought to settle with it amicably instead of rendering this huge number of employees jobless,” they argued.

They appealed to Pakistan Peoples Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Health Minister Azra Pechuho to intervene and save their livelihood.

Sources in the IHS pointed out that through legislation and under the public-private partnership venture, 111 government hospitals and other health facilities, including rural health centres, were handed over to the IHS in October 2016 on 10-year contract with all financial and administrative powers. Allocations were also reflected in the budget books. Since the budgetary allocations under last quarter of 2020-2021 were not released to the IHS, the salaries, as well as all services at these health facilities, were suspended during the April-June period, the sources said.

They noted that contrary to the agreement, the office of the director general health issued a letter to all district health officers (DHOs) to “take over the facilities within five days” citing the reference letter regarding the public-private partnership.

“The hastily issued letter creates anxiety among the employees of all the health facilities working round-the-clock,” the sources said.

Amid protests by the employees throughout the province, the director general health office said that only a list of assets be prepared at this stage, a source privy to the matter told Dawn on Thursday.

The IHS management here had asked the employees to continue with their duties as usual, the sources said.

Another source said that major services had been suspended due to fear that the required funds might not be released.

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2021