PESHAWAR: Provincial Minister for Finance and Health Taimur Khan Jhagra has said history has been made after Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) become the first province to provide free healthcare services to its entire population.
“Health insurance has been provided to 100 per cent population in record three months as per the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan of ‘free health services to all,” he said.
Taimur Jhagra said, besides free health coverage, anti-corona vaccination facilities have formally been started and vaccination centres in 280 hospitals have been established in the province.
“KP has initially received 16,000 anti coronavirus vaccines from the federal government that was being administered to frontline health workers.”
He said that around 2,500 health workers have been imparted the relevant training for anti-corona vaccination and over 64,000 healthcare workers were already registered for the administration of the vaccine.
Prior to the implementation of free healthcare facilities to millions of its people in KP, the poor people in the province had been bearing the brunt of healthcare expenditures with thousands among them unable to get proper medical facilities.
As such, the poor and downtrodden segment of society had to choose between bread and butter and healthcare. Consequently, they were often compelled to borrow money for treatment on high-interest rates to cover the expenditure on healthcare.
With the Health Insaf Card, KP has become the first-ever province in Pakistan to initiate free of charge treatment facilities to its people under Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government.
Similarly, Prime Minister Imran Khan, while addressing a function after the inauguration of tree plantation drive in Ghazi Barotha under his initiative of 10 Billion Tree Tsunami, said that like KP, the whole of Punjab population would get health insurance of Rs1 million by the end of the current year.
Calling it a matter of pride, he said that even the developed countries could not yet provide the universal health coverage as had been provided in the KP.
Before assuming premiership, he had dreamed to extend the health insurance facility to all the households in the country, the premier added.
The prime minister also agreed to the development of a technology zone in Kamra, saying the sector could easily create jobs.
Calling it a government’s policy, PM Imran also endorsed his special aide’s demand for the quota of jobs in ordnance industries in the area and supply of gas to the locals on priority.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam, while speaking on the occasion, said the prime minister’s 10 Billion Tree Tsunami initiative was recognized globally.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) government in the KP had not only achieved the target of a billion trees but also saved Rs8 billion of the project cost, he added.
Accepting the Bonn Challenge, he said, the KP government had made plantation over 350,000 hectares. He said the government was also about to receive a third-party audit of the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami initiative.
One million trees would be planted across the 50 kilometre stretch of water channel, he added.
The SAPM also thanked the prime minister for approving various development projects for Attock like a campus of Allama Iqbal Open University, a mother and childcare hospital, and gas supply to 35 villages.
Earlier, the prime minister unveiled the plaque of the project, which would mark the plantation of around 1.143 million trees along the water channel of the Ghazi Barotha Power Project.
It would cost Rs147.1 million and take around 36 months to complete. The indigenous species, including Shisham, Bakain, Phulai, Siris and the fruit plants including guava, loquat, citrus and fig would be planted.
Moreover, 10 cricket grounds would also be developed in the area along the water channel.
SAPM Amin Aslam briefed the prime minister on the projects and their significance for environmental conservation and promotion of sports.
