Free treatment for four non-communicable diseases

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has approved proposed programme for providing free treatment facilities to the poor patients for four non-communicable diseases in the province to be launched in collaboration with international healthcare and pharmaceutical company Novartis.

Chairing a meeting in connection with launching the programme at Chief Minister’s Secretariat Peshawar, he asked the Health Department to ink a formal agreement with the company for starting the programme all over the province as soon as possible.

He also hinted at including more non-communicable chronic diseases in the programme in case of its successful execution.

The meeting was briefed about the proposed programme for free treatment of poor patients suffering from four non-communicable diseases, including breast cancer, cardio-vascular, diabetes and hypertension.

The meeting was told that free treatment of poor cancer patients with cooperation of Novartis has been launched successfully and transparently.

Now the company has offered cooperation in free treatment of the proposed four non-communicable diseases. 

The programme was being launched purely for low income groups who otherwise could not afford costly treatment of these diseases.

Novartis would provide free medicines to the patients but would charge only Rs 100 per dose as service fee.

The secretary Health told the meeting that launching of this programme would benefit approximately two million deserving patients suffering from these four non-communicable diseases.

The chief minister agreed with the proposal and asked for launching it soon by terming it vital for healthcare of poor people.

He said this would be the second major step of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government for treatment of non-communicable chronic diseases after the Sehat Insaf Card scheme for the poor.

Pervez Khattak said treatment of more diseases would also be included in this programme after its successful implementation. He also agreed with the proposal of providing this facility at divisional level for facilitation of the poor people in remote areas of the province.