Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday launched the distribution of health cards under the Naya Pakistan National Sehat Card project for Punjab starting from Lahore. The health cards will enable every family to avail medical treatment of up to Rs1 million a year at both government and private hospitals. Addressing the launching ceremony, the premier said that this was a 'revolutionary step'. "None of the governments in the past took such a bold decision of providing Rs1 million health insurance to the entire population,” the PM said. Read: UCs to compile data for Sehat cards The premier lauded the Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, the health minister and the whole team involved in the project. "The Punjab government has moved on a course that will uplift the country in pursuance of the forefathers’ vision to make Pakistan an Islamic welfare state," he said. The premier further added that under the programme about 30 million families will benefit from the health insurance facility, which will cost Rs400 billion to the government. "Our forefathers had dreamed to make Pakistan an Islamic welfare state but unfortunately it could not be developed on that course," PM Imran said. He added that unfortunately, no welfare state was formed in the Muslim world after Madinah and, in fact, the Scandinavian states were close to that model "Denmark, Norway and Sweden always believed in inclusive growth and had compassion for the weaker segment," he said. "Any individual or nation abiding by the teachings of Allah Almighty will get His blessings," he added. He said all the Scandinavian countries did not have more resources than Pakistan but they were more prosperous by having adopted the model of a welfare state. “Today, the Punjab government took such a step to put the country on the course of uplifting this nation… We want to turn Pakistan [into] what it was established for. If we don’t opt that course, it will be great treachery with the Indian Muslims who had voted for it,” he remarked. The premier added that some leaders in the past claimed to make Pakistan an Asian Tiger, which could in no way be greater than the idea of a welfare state like Madinah. The prime minister told the gathering that the time will prove that initiative of Sehat Card, involving almost equal funding, will have far better outcomes than the Metro Buses or Orange Train. He said all families across the province will get the Sehat Card by March and also resolved to replicate the model in Balochistan, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. Read More: Taxing time: A closer look at the finance bill The prime minister said the Sehat Card will lead towards the development of health infrastructure across the province as it will attract the private sector to build hospitals even in remote areas. He said the government will close down the government hospitals in far-flung areas where the doctors did not want to be posted, to save the cost. He said the government will incentivize the private sector by allowing duty-free import of their equipment to expand the network of private hospitals. 'Silent revolution' The prime minister told the gathering that a silent revolution was in the making through the government’s initiative of housing construction loans by banks for the salaried class after the government removed all the impediments. He said the people had applied for loans worth Rs260 billion out of which Rs110 billion had been approved and Rs34 billion disbursed already. He said under the Kamyab Pakistan Program, around two million people had been given interest-free loans for house building. Moreover, under the same programme, a loan of Rs0.5 million was also being given to the farmers and others to establish their own businesses. Through the Ehsaas Ration scheme, almost 54% of the population was being given a 30% subsidy on the purchase of ghee, flour and pulses. Read Also: PM terms Shehbaz’s speeches as ‘job applications’ Earlier, the prime minister also distributed Sehat Cards among the beneficiaries. In his address, Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar said the provincial government had allocated Rs399 billion for the health budget compared to Rs169 billion from 2013-18. He said 23 big hospitals were nearing completion, the up-gradation of 158 health facilities had been completed and 78 projects were in the pipeline. He said the provincial government was spending Rs37.5 billion on the purchase of medicines. Moreover, he said the government would soon fulfill its commitment by filling 100,000 vacancies.
from Pakistan News, Latest News Pakistan, Pakistan Headline | eTribune https://ift.tt/3EMaPx0
No comments:
Post a Comment