Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Developed cities are being rewarded instead of deprived areas of the country under Prime Minister’s National Health Programme and the agenda is to make big money through illegal means.

Some corrupt high ups of the health department are inking contracts with private hospitals of big cities and ignoring public sector hospitals. In return, they get heavy bribe from the managements of private hospitals. These private hospitals are getting huge funds from the government under PM’s National Health Programme.

Due to corruption of these officials, fingers are being pointed at the National Health Programme. Under the programme, those who already have state of the art healthcare facilities are being provided better health infrastructure. The underprivileged and deprived areas where people do not have even access to doctors are being totally ignored.

Big private hospitals situated in major cities are in search of recommendations of ruling party legislators to become part of the National Health Programme because it would give them millions of rupees and the dishonest officials would get their share from it.

Big bosses of the health department are not paying any attention to the state run hospitals because they could not pay heavy bribes to those at the helm of affairs.

The Prime Minister’s National Health Programme was launched by the federal government for a period of three years with the estimated cost of Rs 9.1 billion to provide modern healthcare facilities to the people of underdeveloped areas on their doorstep. The ECNEC approved the project in May 2015.

The programme is going to be launch in 23 districts of the country. Four districts have been chosen from each province, whereas two districts have been selected from AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan each and two districts from the FATA. The Islamabad district is also included in the project.

The districts of Punjab, which are included in the programme, are Narowal, Khanewal, Sargodha and Rahim Yar Khan. In contrast, Bakkar, Layyah, Muzaffargarh and Mianwali are the most underprivileged districts in terms of healthcare, but they have been left out.

Similarly, Shikarpur, Badin, Benazirabad (Nawab Shah) and Sanghar districts of Sindh have been included in the programme. In contrast, Ghotki, Dadu, Mirpur Khas, Tando Muhammad and Tando Allah Yar districts have been ignored.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mardan, Malakand, Kohat and Chitral districts have been included in the programme and Lakki Marwat, Bannu and Swabi left out.

In Balochistan, Quetta, Loralai, Lasbella and Kaich districts have been included in the programme, while Sui, Qila Saif Ullah, Chagai and Qila Abdullah districts have been ignored.

Muzaffarabad and Kotli districts of the AJK and Bajaur and Khyber agencies of FATA have been included in the programme.

According to the National Health Programme, a family consisting of four members would get an insurance of Rs 50,000 per annum. Under the package-II, Rs 25,000 would be given as insurance to each family for the treatment of seven deadly diseases.