The Sindh Government has proposed to increase annual budget allocation to health by 19% in the recent budget presented in Sindh Assembly but on the other hand it withheld 30% budget allocated during 2018-19 to major hospitals of Sindh including Chandka Medical College Hospital (CMCH) and Shaikh Zayed Hospital for Women (SZHW) amid massive outbreak of HIV positive cases in Larkana district and outcry of medicines shortage. The provincial government withheld 30% allocated funds to CMCH and SZHW amounting to Rs 80,243,100 and Rs 15,013,050 respectively during fiscal year 2018-19 thus 30% medicines were not procured. This led to tremendous hardships for the poverty-ridden poor patients which forced them to procure essential life-saving drugs out of their own pockets. The total budget estimates for CMCH medicines was Rs 555,450,000 out of which, 85% medicine were to be purchased through Central Rate Contract (CRC) system with Rs 472,132,500 and 15% through Local Purchase (LP) with Rs 83,317,500. No funds were released for repair of machinery & equipment due to which essential diagnostic machines remained dysfunctional such as x-rays, ultrasound and lab instruments which indeed paralyzed diagnostic system of this largest tertiary care 1500-bed capacity hospital of rural Sindh. A review of the budget revealed (copy of which has been obtained by this scribe) that CMCH is step-motherly treated by the bureaucrats despite tall claims of top PPP leadership that state of the art treatment is being provided to the masses in Sindh. But these claims tuned out merely hollow political slogans. Rs 84,000 were allocated for postage & telegraph to CMCH, Rs 477,000 for telephone, Rs 13,040,000 for gas, Rs 154,000 for water, Rs: 217,800,000 for electricity, Rs 6,200,000 for POL for generators. Rs 170,000 for rates & taxes, Rs 5,000,000 for security, Rs 691,000 for TA/DA, Rs 7,306,000 for POL, Rs 726,000 for stationary, Rs 323,000 for printing, Rs 82,000 for newspapers, Rs 3,224,000 for uniform/liveries, Rs 9,023,000 for others (out of this amount cleanliness material is procured), Rs 22,841,000 for consumables, Rs 24,132,000 for Oxygen gas, Rs 22,841,000 for x-ray films, Rs 6,091,000 for instruments, Rs 79,200,000 for diet, Rs 875,000 for repair of transport, Rs 422,000 for repair of furniture and Rs 87,774,000 for office building. In this way, an amount of Rs 1,083,414,000 was allocated to CMCH and an amount of Rs 200,174,000 to SZHW. These budgetary figures were also put before the special health secretary Hafeez Abbasi who recently visited CMCH but he remained unable to get the funds released. SZHW, being the only women hospital of rural Sindh was allocated Rs 16,000 for postage for entire year which is astonishing. Both hospitals are working under the administrative control of CMCH Medical Superintendent (MS), a post of BPS-20, where a most junior general cadre doctor of BPS-19 has been posted in daring & open violation of high court orders throwing away merit whereas recently government has promoted a senior doctor of Larkana to BPS-20 who will be working under his junior as he is posted as Additional Medical Superintendent. This shows the importance the current rulers are assigning to the much advertised vision of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto to give top priority to education & health sectors. According to the papers an amount of Rs 15.013 million (30%) was withheld/reversed out of SZHW budget. Rs 170.243 million were withheld by government during the current financial year out of CMCH annual budget allocations through SAP System in various heads which will cause acute shortage of drugs and other essential items including stationary & repair of equipment. Provincial Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho during her recent visit to CMCH had said that condition of this major hospital is worst and she will try to get more funds for its improvement but so far no progress has been made.