PESHAWAR: The provincial government has appointed Dr Shabina Raza as the first-ever woman director general of health services to enforce its policies.

She will assume charge of her on Friday. A graduate of Khyber Medical College in 1982, she has specialised in preventive paediatrics and health management from UK. She worked in child health department in the city and has to her credit vast experience in preventive paediatrics and health policies.

The colleagues of Dr Shabina say that her appointment serves as motivation especially for women doctors, who don’t hold executive positions in health department.

Colleagues of Dr Shabina Raza say her appointment serves as motivation

A woman district health officer was appointed in late 90s in Peshawar. The medical superintendent of Women and Children Hospital in Kohat is a woman. There are few women in health department, who work as heads.

Even a man heads the Khyber Girls Medical College, established exclusively for female students.

Officials at the directorate say that Dr Shabina designed important health policy programmes, which were being rolled out by the government and sending her to driving seat was also because she crafted all those programmes as chief of health sector reform unit (HSRU).

She is architect of Health Protection Scheme, a mega project with over Rs5 billion, and the seven-year health sector strategy implemented by the health department.

The health department is in the process to integrate programmes it got from the federal government after 18th Amendment into its own system. The new director general was part of team that crafted policy to merge centre-funded programme with the health department.

Dr Shabina, who ranked sixth for the top position, was picked from amongst the panel of 10 doctors of management care group in BPS-20.

Four of the seniors on list were due to retire in couple months while the fifth one was not considered due to which she remained ultimate choice to stay longer because her retirement is due in October.

Her performance since joining department in 1983 is another reason for her selection. Presently team leader of the DFID-sponsored health system improvement project, she plans to motivate all employees and trickle down benefits of the government’s policies.

“It takes time to bring long term improvement but we shouldn’t give up efforts and continue hard work to produce positive results,” Dr Shabina told Dawn.

She also wants to actively work on breastfeeding and nutrition-related law presently enforced by health department and other new laws enforced by the government.

Sources said that government seemed in hurry to make things happen as far as improvement in health delivery was concerned. Despite huge incentives to doctors, paramedics and nurses by the government, the situation with regard to patients’ care is yet to show any signs of improvement.

The new director general health, a top implementer of the health-related matters in the province, is expected to deliver.

Published in Dawn, February 3rd, 2017