Health to get Rs172 billion in next fiscal year, 29.49pc more than last year’s allocation

Increasing the budgetary allocation for health by 29.49 per cent from Rs132.884 billion to Rs172 billion in the next fiscal year, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said Tuesday Rs24.73 billion had also been allocated to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, including Rs17.22 billion for provision of health risk allowance.

“The next financial year will witness an increase of around 30 per cent in the total allocation for the health sector, including medical education. An allocation of Rs172 billion has been proposed as against an allocation of Rs132.88 billion in 2020-21, while 18.5 billion rupees have been pitched for the ADP of health,” he announced in his budget speech at the Sindh Assembly amid chaos due to a protest by the opposition.

Presenting the budget 2021-22, the CM said the budgetary allocation for medicines had been increased by 23 per cent from Rs14.89 billion to Rs18.33 billion, while allocation for the purchase of consumables had also been increased by 44 per cent from Rs1.085 billion to Rs1.568 billion.

He maintained that the provincial government had allocated Rs7.6 billion in the next financial year with an overall rise of 10 per cent for nine vertical programs to combat and control polio, TB, HIV and Aids, Lady Health Workers Program, hepatitis control, and Expanded Program for Immunisation and others.

The allocations for vertical programs include Rs644.9 million for the TB Control Program, Rs1.4 billion for the Lady Health Worker (LHW), Rs2.04 billion for the Prevention & Control of Hepatitis, Rs315.9 million for the Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health Program, Rs309.8 million for malaria control, Rs2.5 billion for EPI, Rs288.7 million for the Sindh AIDS Control Program, Rs57.9 million for Prevention and Control Program for Dengue, Rs76.8 million for prevention andcontrol of blindness.

The CM said Rs8.2 billion had been allocated for PPHI Sindh, Rs7.1 billion for the SIUT and Rs4.5 billion as a special grant for the Indus Hospital Karachi. “Out of this Rs2.5 billion is for its current operation and Rs2 billion for the expansion of the Indus Hospital,” he added.

Furthermore, Rs6.1 billion has been allocated to the NICVD, Karachi, while Rs6.4 billion has been earmarked to the SICVD (Lyari Karachi, Larkana, Sehwan, Hyderabad, Sukkur, T.M. Khan, Shaheed Benaziabad, Khairpur, Mithi and Karachi).

According to the CM, Rs3 billion have been allocated for for PPP Mode health department, Rs4 billion for the Institute of Pir Abdul Qadir Shah Jillani, Gambat, Rs473.9 million for the Institute of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Hyderabad and Rs600 million for the Jacobabad Institute of Medical Sciences.

Shah said Rs2 billion had been allocated for SMBB Trauma Centre Karachi, Rs300 million for the Shahdadpur Institute of Medical Sciences, Rs500 million to the NIBD Karachi and Rs1.2 billion for Child Life Foundation.

“Similarly, Rs300 millions have been allocated for the Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Karachi as well as Rs365 million for the Sindh Healthcare Commission, Karachi. The province has proposed Rs300 million for 10 thalassemia care centers (at Badin, Jacobabad, Shikarpur, Mithi, Shaeed Benazirabad, Thatta, Sujjawal, Hyderabad, Karachi and Umerkot,) and Rs170 million have been proposed for 10 dialysis centres (at Jamshoro, Kotri, Kashmore Kandhkot, Mirpurkhas, Tharparkar, Mithi, Hala, Sujawal, Shahdadpur, Thatta, Nusheroferoze and Umerkot).

For the next financial year, for the development side, the CM said, they had planned to start a natural calamities program in Sindh, which would be co-financed by the federal government on a 50 per cent share basis, and both the governments would provide Rs10.411 billion each and the estimated cost would be Rs20.822 billion.

“We would establish Bio Safety Level-Three (BSL-III) Lab at the Sindh Infectious Disease Hospital Karachi, provision of Linear Accelerator with integrated High Field MRI System at the DUHS Karachi and the provision as well as installation of Onsite Oxygen Generation/ Medical Gases Plants at tertiary care hospitals in Sindh,” he added.

The government has also planned establishment of the Sindh Institute of Child Health (SICH) with MNCH Services at Korangi 5, in addition to an Accident Emergency Centre on the Motorway at the Thano Bola Khan Interchange and at Hawks Bay, Karachi.

Medical education

In addition to health services, an overall 45 per cent increase of Rs2.846 billion has been proposed for medical education by enhancing its budget from Rs6.294 billion to Rs9.141 billion in 2021-22.

In SNE (New) total 691 new posts are proposed with financial implications of Rs509.790 million, Shah said and added that besides, Rs73.514 million had been proposed for the purchase of machinery and equipment and Rs26.414 million for the purchase of furniture & fixture.

The chief minister announced that 12 colleges of nursing were proposed to be adopted on the recurring side by transferring 302 posts and by creating 216 new posts with financial implications of Rs466.600 million. He added 400 new slots of PGs were created by enhancing slots of PGs from 1,400 to 1,800 in Sindh.

“It includes 100 slots each for Dow University of Health Sciences, Liaquat University of Health Sciences, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University, Larkana and Peoples University of Health Sciences for Women.

The existing budget of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University, Larkana, Peoples University Medical & Health Sciences for Women Benazirabad and Khairpur Medical College budget is enhanced by Rs100 million each respectively,” the CM said.