KARACHI, Aug 28: About half of the primary health units of the province, which have been adopted by the federal government under the President’s Primary Health-care Initiative (PPHCI), are yet to be given doctors and paramedical staff, it was officially said on Tuesday.

The PPHCI aims to replicate the model of primary health-care services, which was first practised at Rahim Yar Khan, to benefit the masses of the rural areas. Under an MoU signed between the PPHCI and the government of Sindh in February 2007, all district governments are required to transfer their existing budget pertaining to the health units in question, while the federal government will provide Rs100,000 per health unit for urgent rehabilitation.

So far 319 basic or rural health units and dispensaries located in five districts — Kashmore, Khairpur, Mirpurkhas, Sukkur and Larkana — have been transferred to the project.

In a meeting of the steering committee of the PPHCI Sindh, which was chaired by Sindh Health Minister Syed Sardar Ahmad, an official concerned said that 156 health facilities had doctors, while 163 were short of doctors. Of the facilities transferred 113 were without an official sanction for new expenditures and staff.The official, Dr Riaz Memon, further said that some of the premises had been freed from illegal occupants, but there were still 10 health facilities to be retrieved. All facilities without doctors have been converted into clusters of two and three facilities, he added.

According to Dr Memon, 33 female medical officers (FMOs) have been employed by the PPHCI at a salary of Rs35,000 to Rs40,000 a month to provide services to the clustered health facilities. The FMOs have been provided with a glucometer, pregnancy strips and haemoglobin test facilities to further extend antenatal and gynaecological cover in rural areas.

He informed the minister that four of the districts had transferred the funds allocated for the health units to the PPHCI to meet the salary component of the existing staff and cost of maintenance, repairs and utilities, while three others would ensure that shortly. The PPHCI Sindh now also extends to Badin, Tharparkar-Mithi, Jacobabad, Tando Allah Yar, Naushehro Feroze, while Dadu district is yet to sign the agreement, Dr Memon added.

Syed Sardar Ahmad directed the district coordination officers and executive district health officers to enhance their coordination and play their due role in realising the health programmes of the government.

He also asked them to furnish reports on pending sanctioned new expenditures within 15 days so that funds could be provided by the government for the up-gradation of hospitals in the districts.