ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Faisal Sultan on Monday said that 19 million families had got the facility of health card across the country.

He said that 100 per cent population of Islamabad and Gilgit-Baltistan would get the facility by January next year.

Chairing a meeting of the health programme which was participated by all the provinces, Dr Sultan said that the ambit of the programme had been expanded across the country.

The meeting was also attended by Punjab Health Minister Yasmin Rashid and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa minister Taimur Jhagra.

Covid positivity ratio recorded at 2.84pc

“Now poor can get the medical treatment without spending a penny. Under the Universal Health Coverage Programme, the people of erstwhile Fata, Tharparkar and Azad Jammu and Kash­mir will get free treatment,” Dr Sultan said.

It is worth mentioning that under the programme, each family can get up to Rs1 million for secondary care treatment which begins as soon as a patient is hospitalised.

It covers all kinds of diseases, including cancer, accident, burn injuries, diabetic complications, heart bypass and infections.

Meanwhile, data of the National Command and Operation Centre showed that as many as 1,490 cases of Covid-19 were reported and 27 patients succumbed to the virus across the country on Monday. The national positivity ratio was 2.84 per cent and 3,407 patients were on critical care.

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2021