Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Lack of interest by bureaucracy and AJK rulers has deteriorated AJK’s health department. According to documents available with Daily Times, the health facilities in AJK are next to nil. AJK’s population has surpassed 40 million but no considerable steps have been taken by the AJK government to extend proper medical facilities to the people.

A health budget has been allocated amounting to Rs 6.07 billion during the current fiscal year which is highly disproportionate to the growing population. People have to move to Islamabad and other cities in connection with medical treatment. Raja Junaid, a resident of Muzaffarabad told Daily Times that doctors of hospitals have referred him to Islamabad for want of treatment facilities and he is facing difficulties in connection with his treatment.

Anjum Aziz, resident of Kahuta said that they have to move to Rawla Kot even if a small health problem arises. If there is no facility available therein then they refer us to Islamabad. It can take 10 hours to travel from Haveli to Islamabad and due to this reason a lot of patients expire on the way to Islamabad.

According to health department statistics, only one doctor is available per 5,000 people, one bed for 1,366 persons, one dental surgeon for 62,456 persons and one nurse for 9 beds in AJK. 62 infants per thousand lose their lives and the maternal mortality rate is 201 women per 100,000 women.

As per statistics, the AJK health department comprises 12,925 employees. Among them, 57 are health managers, 245 are specialists, 581 medical officers, 76 dental surgeons, 118 gazetted officers, 370 nurses, 336 LHVs, 2,448 paramedical, 4,113 supported staff, 3,351 LHWs and MNCH program and 542 medical college staff.

5 district hospitals are functioning, 2 CMH, 9 Tehsil headquarters hospital, one general hospital, one dental hospital, 50 rural health centres, 78 basic health centres, 78 dispensaries, and 428 first aid posts in 10 districts of AJK. 3,885 beds were approved for AJK hospitals, but among them only 1,870 are functional. Nawaz Sharif had promised to set up a heart hospital in Bagh but this promise, perhaps unsurprisingly, has not been kept.