LAHORE, June 9: The Punjab government has increased allocations for the Health Sector Development Programme for the financial year 2005-06 by 65 per cent, focusing preventive health services as well as for the promotion of primary and secondary healthcare systems. The government has allocated Rs3.3 billion for the next development budget against the current year’s Rs2 billion. The allocation for the HSDP makes 6.23 per cent of the total development budget for the next fiscal of the Punjab government.

Besides, this development allocation, the health sector will also be receiving some Rs4 billion during the next three years under the Punjab Devolved Social Services Programme. The programme has been funded through a $150 million loan by the Asian Development Bank and a grant of $50 million by the Department for International Development, UK. The PDSSP will be run like World Bank-funded Punjab Education Sector Reforms Programme.

The PDSSP will aim at providing missing facilities, medicines and other services at the devolved healthcare facilities, including basic health unit, rural health centre, tehsil and district headquarters hospitals. Some 3,000 BHUs and RHCs will be modernized.

These development funds are aim at reducing maternal and infant mortality rate, strengthening of primary healthcare with emphasis on rural areas and urban slums, strengthening of secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities for adequate referral back up, and encouraging public-private partnership in the health sector.

In order to meet these broad policy goals during 2005-06, the government will be stressing strengthening of primary healthcare, upgradation of DHQ and THQ hospitals, development of mother and child healthcare facilities, emergency ambulance services, improvement in medical education, strengthening of tertiary healthcare facilities, and provision of modern medical equipment.—Mansoor Malik