‘Dozens of NGOs operating from public hospitals sans permit’

Health officials claim billions of rupees being
generated but not being spent on patients

Dozens of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are operating from Sindh’s public health facilities, including major hospitals, without a permit or memorandum of understanding (MoU) as well as generating funds locally and internationally without an audit, health department officials told The News on Monday.

Only a few NGOs have contributed to the welfare of patients, their attendants, visitors and medical and paramedical staff, but most of them have taken over entire wards or sizeable premises or sections of hospitals, where even the officials of the health facilities are not allowed.

“We have 25 NGOs claiming to work for patient welfare at the Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK), but only three of them have signed MoUs with the hospital administration or the health department to operate from the facility,” said CHK Medical Superintendent Dr Zulfiqar Siyal. “One NGO has yet to start functioning, but the remaining are operating without any permission or agreement.”

Dr Siyal said the organisations had setup their offices inside the CHK premises, hired their own staff and barred the hospital staff and health department officials from monitoring their activities, adding that the NGOs were apparently not answerable to any authority.

“The organisations are generating their own funds under the hospital’s name, but no spending on patients or improvement in the condition of visitors has been observed since the NGOs started operating here.”

He said the organisations had been asked to show the MoU under which they were operating at the hospital, their sources of income, the contributions they made to the facility and the services they provided to patients in the past two years as well as their audit report.

“We have written separate letters to all the NGOs operating in our premises to provide the required details, but so far only four of them have submitted the documents. The remaining seem to be reluctant.”

Health department officials claimed that a massive inquiry had been launched against the organisations operating under the names of different hospitals. They said the NGOs’ funds were being generated from European countries, the United States, overseas Pakistanis and various philanthropic organisations.

“Billions of rupees have been amassed by these fake and non-existing NGOs with the connivance of some corrupt people in the health department, but these funds have never been spent on the welfare of Sindh’s people,” said an official. He claimed that the initial inquiry revealed that large sums of money were amassed by the NGOs under the guise of providing free meals to patients and their attendants, construction of shelters for attendants and toilets, provision of free medical screenings to deserving patients, potable water and medicines, rehabilitation of patients and purchase of ambulances.

He said that some of the organisations assessed the medical needs of patients and then referred them to private hospitals in Karachi and other cities of the province, collecting their share from the exorbitant fees charged by the health facilities.

“Details of all the public health facilities are being collected. They have been asked to provide the particulars of the funds they generated, their audit reports and the services they rendered to patients and the institutions.”

On the other hand, he added, a handful of NGOs were assisting the health department in providing quality health care, and their services would be officially recognised. He requested the people to be wary of fake organisations.