ISLAMABAD - The caretaker government has extended the Sehat Sahulat Programme in the Federally Administered areas including Islamabad Capital Territory, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and also in Tharparkar district of Sindh till June 2024, and has asked recommendations for finalising modalities of the programme beyond the ongoing fiscal year.
To maintain continuity of the Sehat Sahulat Programme the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has approved the extension of the programme until 30th June 2024, however, the scope of beneficiaries has been restricted to only the poorest segment of these areas, official source told The Nation here on Wednesday.
For the medium-term and post June 2024 modality of the Programme, major revisions are proposed in the technical scope and design, financing modality, regulatory framework, institutional arrangements of the programme.
In this regard a high-level working group convened by Ministry of Planning Development and Special lnitiatives consisting of representatives of Ministry of Finance, National Health Services Regulations and Coordination and representatives of Planning and Development Department of Sindh, Balochistan, AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan is proposed.
The Working group will finalise the medium-term and post-June 2024 modality of the programme and submit it to ECNEC within 90 days, the source said.
The subject original PC-I of the project was approved by ECNEC on 07 02-2018 at a total cost of Rs33,639.998 million. The scope of the project included the premium of priority care indoor treatment of people living below $2 per day (PMT 32.5 or less) residing in focused districts in Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, the premium of secondary and priority care indoor treatment of people living below $2 per day (PMT 32.5 or less) residing in focused districts in ICT, AJK and GB.
Later the PC-I was revised (1st revision) and approved by the ECNEC on 29-03-2019 with the scope to cater to the premium of secondary and priority care indoor treatment of people living below $2 per day (PMT 32.5 or less) residing in focused districts in ICT, AJK, GB, and Balochistan, while the services were made universal regardless of the income level among residents of FATA and district Tharparkar. Disabled living in federal areas were also brought into the loop of universal coverage regardless of income levels.
The 2nd revised PC-I was considered by the CDWP in its meeting held on 4-11-2020 and the forum allowed that the project shall be extended to all population of AJK and transgenders. The sponsors, before consideration of the project at ECNEC, were required to bring back the PC-I to the CDWP within three months with health insurance policy, legislative framework, institutional structure along with details of the preliminary sense of financial. However, the sponsors meanwhile implemented the programme on universal coverage basis in the federal areas (ICT, GB and AJK) and State Life Insurance Corporation was awarded the contract.
The CDWP in its meeting on 23-5-2023 recommended the project for consideration of the ECNEC at earlier approved cost of Rs31,935.00 Million for an interim period till June 2023 to discharge the liabilities and payment to insurance company on account of expansion in scope of the project in ICT, AJK, GB, district Tharparkar, NMD KP (till 30-6-2022), and transgenders & disabled of these areas on universal basis regardless of the income levels. For beyond June 2023 the MoHSRC will share an impact evaluation study of existing programme by 15th June 2023 and submit a new proposal. ECNEC in its meeting on l9-7-2023 considered the Summary dated 7-7-2023 submitted by Ministry of Planning, Development and Special lnitiatives and approved the project at a cost of Rs23.300.00 million for an interim period up to June 2023 and to discharge the accrued liabilities.
Now the caretaker government has approved the project for the ongoing fiscal year and may likely be further extended in the light of final recommendations of the Working Group.
