KARACHI, April 18: The City Nazim, Syed Mustafa Kamal, has said the city government was working on priority basis for providing free but modern medical facilities to the people of Karachi and its backward rural areas.

He was talking to Prof Masood Hameed, Vice-Chancellor of the Dow University of Medical and Health Sciences on Tuesday. DCO Karachi Fazalur Rehman, EDO Health Dr Khalid Shaikh and other officials were present there.

Views were exchanged on matters of mutual interests and those relating to health units being run by the city government.

The nazim pointed out that the city government alone could not do anything until it had the community’s support.

It was for that reason that a committee on community basis had been formed in the health sector, which comprised important people from the public and private sectors.

The committee, he pointed out, was looking after the upgradation of basic health centres, dispensaries and rural health centres of the city government besides the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Sobhraj Hospital, Gizri Maternity Home, Spencer Eye Hospital, Leprosy Hospital Manghopir, Homoeopathic Hospital Nazimabad, Gazdarabad, Nazimabad Hospital, Sindh Government Hospital New Karachi, Sarfraz Rafiqi Shaheed Hospital, and the Primary Health Care Lyari; including their renovation, shortage of equipment and medicines, staff shortage and other matters.

He said the committee was making recommendations after reviewing provision of free and quality medical facilities to people of all parts of the city, whether urban or rural or backward village areas.—APP