LAHORE:A delegation of Asian Development Bank (ADB) called on Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique at the Department of Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education on Monday to discuss Punjab Nursing Sector Reform Project. The ADB delegation also gave a briefing regarding the matter.
Punjab Health Secretary Azmat Mahmood, Special Secretary Development Zeeshan Shabbir Rana, Additional Secretary Development Dr Waheed Asghar and Additional Secretary Establishment Ameer Muhammad were present on the occasion. DG Nursing, Additional DG Nursing and other officers also participated. The ADB delegation included Nonglak Pagaia, Fariba Al-Drazi, Zahara Ladhani, Aftab Nazir, M Ali, Fatima Arshad, Ali Afzal Sheikh, Nadir Ehsan and Mansoor Ali.
Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique said that the nursing sector is the backbone of the health system. The Punjab government has taken basic steps for the improvement of the nursing sector. Trained and experienced nurses of Punjab are in demand all over the world. According to the vision of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, efforts are being made to provide the best health facilities to the people.
Khawaja Salman said that we are improving the nursing curriculum in Punjab. Steps are also being taken for capacity building of the nursing faculty. He thanked the Asian Development Bank for its offer of cooperation for the improvement of the nursing sector of Punjab.
The ADB delegation said that they offer all possible cooperation for the improvement of the nursing sector of Punjab and ADB wanted to promote research in the nursing sector.
Meanwhile, the annual general meeting of the Punjab Health Initiative Management Company (PHIMC) was held under the chairmanship of Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique on Monday. Three agendas of PHIMC were presented in the meeting and a detailed review of the annual performance of the Punjab Health Initiative Management Company was conducted and the minutes of the 8th meeting were approved in the meeting.
During the meeting, a detailed review of the annual audited financial statements of PHIMC for the financial year 2024 was also conducted.
Khawaja Salman Rafique, while expressing his views, said that the PHIMC has been made the executing agency of various important health projects launched by the CM Punjab. A complete transparency mechanism has been created in every health project. Every rupee of the public is being spent on the welfare of the people and historic steps are being taken in the health sector. The provincial health minister said that the Chief Minister’s Dialysis Programme, the CMs Special Initiative for Transplant Programme and the CM’s Children’s Heart Surgery Programme are the flagship programmes of the Punjab government in the health sector. The meeting was attended by Secretary Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Dept Azmat Mahmood, CEO PHIMC Dr. Ali Razaq and other officers of the company, CEO Punjab Healthcare Commission Dr. Saqib Aziz, Dr. Zahid Pervez, Director PITB Nosheen Fayyaz, Dr. Shujaat Ali, Parveen Agha, Member Health P&D Shafaat Ali, Additional Secretary Finance Department Bilal Ahmed and others, while Dr. Adnan Khan and Advocate SC Sultan Mahmood participated through video link.
