Govt has no funds to repair health units

Published April 24, 2005

PESHAWAR, April 23: The provincial health department has been unable to repair buildings of health facilities that suffered damage due to the recent rains and snowfall, official sources said. The government needs about Rs21 million to carry out the repair work in Malakand, Abbottabad, Kohat, Hangu, Swabi, Peshawar, Nowshera, Bannu, Shangla, Charsadda and Haripur districts but it does not have this much money.

The health facilities in Shangla, Abbottabad and Malakand had suffered sever damages and their repair requires Rs9 million, whereas Swabi, Peshawar, Nowshera and Bannu district need Rs2 million each for repair of health facilities buildings. Similarly Haripur, Charsadda and Hangu need Rs1 million each for repair work.

According to the sources, most of these buildings house basic health units (BHUs), civil hospitals, rural health centres (RHCs) and dispensaries which cater to the healthcare needs of the people in the rural areas.

They said that the government was looking towards donor agencies for undertaking the repair work, because it lacks resources to do the required work.