‘Education, health priorities’

LAHORE
Provincial Minister for Law, Excise & Taxation, and Finance Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman has said the present coalition regime has given the highest priority to the health and education. The provincial health budget has been enhanced remarkably and additional resources have been provided to accelerate the efforts for prompt achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). He said the major focus was on protecting the health of the people through strengthening of Primary Health Care & Disease Preventive Programmes. He said that 95% of discretionary funds were being used for the treatment of underprivileged people and for grant in aid to the poor people.
He said the development budget of the current fiscal year was 17 percent more as compared to previous year. He said the budget allocated for education was Rs. 274 billion which was 26.25 percent of the total expenditures whereas the budget allocated for health was Rs.121.80 billon which was 11.66 percent of the total expenditures of the government.
Talking to a delegation of party workers at his residence, Mujtaba said the government had provided extra Rs. two billion for the control of communicable diseases whereas the government had also increased 19.8% budget for the ongoing expenditures for the health sector. He said the government had reserved Rs. two billion to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
He said the skilled birth attendants, LHVs, and LHWs were being appointed at the health centres because the MMR in LHWs covered area was 147/100,000 live births compared 300 to 350/100,000 to uncovered areas. He said that at present under five mortality rate present was 94/1000 and it would be reduced 45 till 2015 (MDGs Target), newborn mortality rate was 54/1000 and it would be reduced up to 25 by year 2015. He further said the infant mortality rate was 77/1000 which would be reduced 40 up till 2015.