LAHORE, Oct 12 (APP): Following a meeting and directives of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif regarding cooperation with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), an ADB delegation met Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique at the Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Department to discuss measures to strengthen Punjab’s tertiary healthcare network.
Special Secretary (Development) Ahmed Kamal Maan and other officials attended the meeting. The ADB delegation comprised Senior Social Sector Specialists Hado Hutzing and Philip Kalpaxis, Senior Project Officer Mansoor Ali Masood, and consultants Jawad Qureshi and Ali Sheikh.
The delegation briefed the provincial health minister on potential areas of cooperation to improve tertiary healthcare services across Punjab.
Welcoming the delegation, Khawaja Salman Rafique said the provincial government was committed to providing quality healthcare facilities to the public in line with the vision of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif. He thanked the ADB for its willingness to support efforts to strengthen the province’s tertiary healthcare system.
He said new cardiac, cancer and children’s hospitals were being established across Punjab, while existing facilities for cardiology, paediatrics and oncology were being progressively upgraded. Intensive care units (ICUs) and emergency wards at tertiary care hospitals were also being improved, where necessary, alongside measures to strengthen the referral system across the province.
The minister highlighted the government’s initiatives to expand cardiac care facilities, including the Punjab Institute of Cardiology and Jinnah Institute of Cardiology in Lahore, Faisalabad Institute of Cardiology, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi Institute of Cardiology in Multan, SMKB Institute of Cardiology in Dera Ghazi Khan, Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology, CPEIC in Wazirabad, Pervaiz Elahi Institute of Cardiology in Bahawalpur, Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cardiology in Sahiwal/Sargodha, and Sahiwal Institute of Cardiology.
He said the provincial government was also establishing the state-of-the-art Maryam Nawaz Cardiology Institute in Gujranwala.
Regarding paediatric healthcare, the minister said specialised treatment facilities were available at the Children’s Hospital and Institute of Child Health in Lahore and at children’s hospitals in Faisalabad and Multan. New children’s hospitals were also being established in Rawalpindi, Bahawalpur and Lahore.
He further said the government was establishing the state-of-the-art Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cancer Treatment and Research in Lahore. The cancer centre at Nishtar Hospital in Multan had also been made fully operational, while plans were underway to establish the state-of-the-art Kulsoom Nawaz Cancer Center in Dera Ghazi Khan.
Cancer centres were also planned for the divisions of Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Sahiwal and Bahawalpur, he added.
The ADB delegation assured the provincial government of all possible cooperation to strengthen tertiary healthcare services. The delegation expressed its willingness to provide technical and financial assistance in cardiology, paediatrics and oncology and appreciated the Punjab government’s healthcare initiatives.
Source: APP (Associated Press of Pakistan)
