MNCH provincial coordinator removed over frequent complaints

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Department has taken notice of frequent complaints against provincial coordinator for the multi-million funded project, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH), Dr Sahib Gul, and removed him from his position.

The senior officials of the Health Department said an inquiry had been ordered against Dr Sahib Gul on written complaints of the staff. As per statement of the provincial Health Department, Dr Mohammad Salim, BPS-19 of Management Cadre, project director HIV/AIDS, was authorised to look after the affairs of the MNCH project till the outcome of the enquiry was notified.

A senior official of the Health Department told The News on condition of anonymity that they had been receiving multiple complaints of serious nature for the last few years about massive irregularities in recruitment and procurements in the programme.

He said certain staff members had submitted written complaints with complete details. These pertained to the misuse of power and alleged corruption in the programme. They sought the intervention of the authorities concerned. “The programme was earning a bad name for the Health Department. Most of the people associated with the project suspected that the senior officials of the department were involved in corruption as well as despite repeated complaints, no action was taken on mismanagement in the project,” said the official.

The MNCH programme was launched in the year 2006 and ended in 2012. The programme, which purely deals with the health of pregnant women, newborn and children under five years, was then extended from 2013 to 2015.

And then again the project was extended till June 2018 without the approval of the new PC-1.

The official said as per new PC-1, each district should have one public health specialist and one training coordinator (all doctors).

However, he said, the present provincial coordinator had removed all of them and the programme was now being run by clerical staff and class-IV without technical doctors.