Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Wednesday said Punjab Health Reforms Roadmap would be implemented along the lines of the Punjab School Reforms Roadmap to improve the performance of the Health Department and provide modern health facilities to citizens.
He was presiding over a meeting attended by Adviser on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique, MPA Ayesha Ghaus Pasha, the chief secretary, the Planning and Development Board chairman, and the additional chief secretary.
Sir Michael Barber, a representative of the Department for International Development (DFID) and DFID head Richard Montgomery briefed the meeting. The chief minister said healthy citizens constituted a healthy society.
He stressed the need for setting targets for provision of health facilities to citizens. He said the scope of vaccination programmes should be broadended.
He said special attention would be paid to maternal and child health under the Punjab Health Reforms Roadmap.
Sharif said the basic health centres would be improved and availability of medicines and doctors ensured.
He said the Punjab Information Technology Board would develop the digital monitoring system.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 17th, 2014.