Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Sunday said that 200 ambulances would be inducted into ambulance service in the province by the end of this year. Chairing a meeting regarding provision of ambulance service to National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) in Karachi, he said that trained staff will also be provided to NICVD. In March, the Sindh chief minister had handed over 12 well-equipped ambulances to Tharparkar district for its six taluka hospitals. “I am pleased to hand over 12 well-equipped and state-of-the-art 4×4 Toyota Hilux Ambulances, two for each Taluka headquarters hospital of Tharparkar for timely transportation of patients from rural areas to hospitals or even tertiary level health facilities for management of critical conditions,” he said. He said that Tharparkar was one of the most under-privileged areas of the province. ” 95 percent of the region is desert and facing several socioeconomic issues and natural calamities including drought,” he said. He added that the health department was providing health services to 1.65 million (m) population of the district through a network of 253 health facilities, including one District Headquarter Hospital, six Taluka Headquarter Hospitals (THQs), six Rural Health Centers (RHC), 33 Basic Health Units (BHUs) and 207 government dispensaries. Published in Daily Times, October 1st 2018.