Health Insurance Card to bring relief for poor people: president

ISLAMABAD: President Dr. Arif Alvi said the government was taking all necessary steps to improve the health sector. Addressing a health symposium organised at PIMS in Islamabad on Friday he said social cushions like health cards will bring about a visible change in the lives of people as they will not have to worry for expenditures during any illness.

The President said medicine is a noble profession that serves the humanity and social standing of doctors needs to be improved. He emphasised the importance of medical research for improving the healthcare sector.

The President appreciated the role of Health Minister Amir Mehmood Kayani for bringing visible improvements in his ministry. He also congratulated the administration and staff of PIMS for expanding the facilities at hospital.

Addressing the ceremony Minister for National Health Services Aamir Mahmood Kayani said the health card scheme will be launched tomorrow (Saturday). Under this scheme twenty to twenty five million poor segments of the society will be provided with health cards. The minister said the health budget which is currently 0.67 percent of the GDP will also be enhanced to two percent from next fiscal year. He said Islamabad will be made model health city with right kind of interventions. He said four new hospitals will be built in the federal capital. Besides basic health units will be made fully functional.

In his remarks Executive Director of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMs) Raja Amjad Mehmood gave a presentation on different projects of the hospital. He said kidney transplant center has been made functional in the hospital. Over the last three months eight kidney transplants were conducted.