KARACHI: In a first action of its kind since taking charge last week, the caretaker government of Sindh on Thursday sought audit reports from more than 30 health institutions — both public and private — which received billions of rupees in annual grants but many of them had never met the basic financial regulatory requirement.

The Sindh health department has approached the heads of some 34 healthcare institutions across the province that are run by the government, private groups, non-governmental organisations (NGO) and different welfare bodies which are receiving annual grant from government, and asked them to furnish an audit report to be conducted by a recognised auditing firm.

The chairmen of Indus Hospital, Child Life Foundation, Patients Aid Foundation and Infectious Diseases Foundation that have been receiving Rs1 billion annual grant from Sindh government had been told that they must now furnish an audit report to be conducted by any of the top four auditing firms, said a statement issued by the health department.

Under the initiative, taken on a directive of caretaker Health Minister Dr Saad Khalid Niaz, the institutions that had been receiving less than Rs1 billion grant-in-aid annually from Sindh government have been asked to furnish the audit report to be conducted by any of the top 10 auditing firms.

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The health institutions which have been receiving annual grant from Sindh government included the National Institute of Cardiovascular Disease, Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation, Sindh Institute of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Sindh Integrated Emergency Health Services, National Institute of Blood Diseases, Pir Abdul Shah Jeelani Institute of Gambat (Jacobabad), Shahadapur Institute of Science, Syed Abdullah Shah Institute of Medical Sciences, Kidney Centre, Indus Hospital, Rahmatullah Benevolent Trust, Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centres (Sindh), Benazir Shaheed Model Addiction Treatment and Rehabilitation, Pakistan National Forum on Women’s Health, The Cancer Foundation, Child Life Foundation, Trust Fatimid Foundation, Kashif Iqbal Thalassaemia Centre, Chief Drug Inspector Sindh, Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission Nuclear Institute of Medicine and Radio Therapy (Jamshoro), Patients Aid Foundation, Patients Welfare Association, Women & Children Medical Care Trust, Preen Rasool Thalassemia Care Trust (Qasimabad, Hyderabad), Afzaal Memorial Thalassaemia Foundation, Agha Welfare Trust (Sindh), Integrated Emergency Health Services, Children of Adam, Fatimyah Hospital, Haemophilia Welfare Society, International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences, Infectious Diseases Hospital and Ziauddin Group of Hospitals.

In its last (2023-24) budget, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government increased the health budget by 10 per cent increase it to Rs272.168 billion. Apart from seeking the institutions’ audit report, the caretaker government has also asked them to take certain steps mainly to highlight contributions received from government.

“The government of Sindh logo shall be prominently displayed on all type of stationery used within the institutions,” said the health department communication addressed to all such institutions.

It bound down them to put up banners/standees at the façade and inside the institution showcasing their services offered by the institution with the support of the grant-in-aid received from Sindh government. Allocations between 0.25pc and 0.5pc of the total grant-in-aid would be earmarked for publicising and highlighting the financial assistance received by them from government, the statement said.

It did not elaborate the objective of the caretaker administration’s fresh directive of audit, which had never been done by any elected government of a political party.

“That particular proposal [publicising financial assistance received from government of Sindh] was also put before former health minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho several times but she always turned it down opposing the idea of spending money on such exercise,” said an official.

Published in Dawn, August 25th, 2023