Sindh govt joins USAID-funded rehabilitation project

To address the challenges in providing rehabilitation and assistive technology (AT) services to citizens, the government of Sindh has joined hands with the Learning, Acting and Building for Rehabilitation in Health System (ReLAB-HS).

Speaking at the launch of a ReLAB-HS Pakistan initiative in Sindh at a local hotel in Karachi on Thursday, Muhammad Khan Ranjha, the provincial secretary for the department for empowering persons with disabilities, said the Sindh government was taking steps to improve the status of rehabilitation and AT services for the people.

"Rehabilitation has been an ignored area, and access to AT services has always been a great challenge for the marginalised and low-income population due to many reasons, including financial barriers and lack of awareness,” he said.

Abdul Bachani, the ReLAB-HS global director, discussed the initiative's key activities and objectives. He explained that ReLAB-HS was a five-year global activity funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to support the strengthening of health systems that were responsive to the growing needs of rehabilitation for the people. “Pakistan is one of four countries where ReLAB-HS will co-design and implement innovative, comprehensive and cost-effective interventions to strengthen health systems for the provision of rehabilitation and AT,” he said.