Disease-free Punjab govt priority, says minister

LAHORE:Punjab Minister for Primary and Secondary Healthcare Khawaja Imran Nazir emphasised said that a disease-free Punjab is the Chief Minister’s top priority, and the government is allocating ample resources to achieve this goal.

He made these remarks while chairing a meeting on the Chief Minister’s Health Reforms Initiative here on Friday.During the meeting, directives from the chief minister were reviewed, including the ongoing free home delivery of medicines and various health reforms aimed at improving the province’s healthcare system.

One of the key decisions was to launch a province-wide health survey to collect comprehensive data about disease prevalence, which will guide future healthcare interventions. A proposal to form a committee of technical experts to devise a five-year roadmap for self-sustaining vertical healthcare programmes was also discussed.

Addressing the participants, the minister underscored that these programmes would eventually become self-sufficient.Khawaja Imran Nazir highlighted that the daily monitoring of free medicine deliveries to patients’ homes is a top priority, with complete digitisation of patient records for transparency and efficiency.

‘The use of digital media has been a crucial tool for raising awareness and preventing the spread of contagious and epidemic diseases,’ he said. He further reiterated that access to comprehensive medical treatment, including free medicines, is a fundamental right of every patient in the province.

Since May, over 85,000 patients, including those suffering from cancer, heart disease, hepatitis, and tuberculosis, have benefited from the free home delivery of medicines, he added. Senior officials from the Health Reforms Roadmap team and the health department were also in attendance.

Meanwhile, Punjab Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique announced the government’s commitment to support doctors by offering interest-free loans for business ventures. During his visit to the Punjab Health Foundation (PHF) on Friday, the minister highlighted the government’s ongoing efforts to facilitate healthcare professionals.

He stated that every year, the Punjab government provides interest-free loans worth millions of rupees to doctors through the PHF. He emphasised that additional steps would be taken to improve the foundation’s operations.

He also announced plans to call a meeting of the Board of Directors of the PHF, where modern reforms to enhance the institution’s efficiency and effectiveness would be discussed.He pledged to transform the PHF into a profitable organisation, ensuring it to benefit healthcare professionals in the province.

Earlier, the minister received a briefing from the Managing Director of PHF Jawad Akram regarding the foundation’s performance and toured various departments, where he reviewed their functioning in detail.