Imran Khan played important role in ensuring free treatment to all families in GB

On the occasion of World Health Day, the world has renewed its commitment to achieving the goal of “Health for All”. This day is an opportunity to pay tribute to all the people, especially doctors and lady health workers, who are working tirelessly to improve the health of people around the world, including those in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Chairman PTI, Imran Khan, has played an important role in ensuring that free treatment is provided to all families in Gilgit-Baltistan through the Sehat Insaf Card program. This program has been instrumental in achieving the goal of “Health for All”.

The provincial government of Gilgit-Baltistan has also prioritized the improvement of the public health sector in the region. A high-level Health Reforms Steering Committee was formed, which implemented several historic reforms in the last two years to improve government hospitals. As a result, the public is now benefitting from these improvements.

To ensure that residents of Gilgit-Baltistan have access to healthcare facilities in their own areas, the government launched a major reform initiative. This led to the establishment of hospitals in Ghazar, Astor, Hunza, Nagar, and Ghanche, where operations and treatment facilities are now available.

The shortage of doctors and medical staff in government hospitals was addressed by recruiting 328 new doctors and other medical staff. Additionally, expert and experienced doctors were appointed through al-Shifa, and 1354 new posts for public health were approved by the federation.

Several measures were taken to address the non-availability of doctors in Gilgit-Baltistan, including the historic increase in salaries, the approval and implementation of the Regularization Act, and the extension of the retirement age of doctors. The government also initiated post-graduate training in government hospitals, approved plans and provided land for the establishment of Gilgit’s first medical college, and paid special attention to the appointment of new doctors and medical staff, provision of machinery, construction of new blocks, and completion of inactive development projects in the three major regional hospitals of Gilgit. Special ambulances were provided to the health department to enable immediate access to treatment for people in remote areas, and quality medicines were made available in government hospitals.

The health sector was given special attention in the annual ADP of the last two years, with a large portion of the ADP allocated for the development projects of the health department.

Thanks to the two years of efforts by the provincial government, there has been a revolutionary improvement in the provision of treatment facilities in the regional and district headquarters hospitals of Gilgit-Baltistan. The long-standing problems related to salaries and training of doctors have been resolved, and doctors and medical staff are being posted in remote areas of Gilgit-Baltistan. Small and big health centers will be operational in all areas of Gilgit-Baltistan due to the recruitment of 1354 new posts. Special ambulances have been provided for emergency situations, and standard medicines are available in government hospitals.

Despite limited financial resources, the provincial government has been able to make historic improvements in the public health sector and is striving for further improvements. The mission of providing the best healthcare to all the people of Gilgit-Baltistan is ongoing, and the government is committed to completing it within the next three years