LAHORE - Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid has assured setting up healthcare centers near China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. She was talking to Chairman CPEC Authority Lt Gen (Retd) Asim Salim Bajwa who called on her at People’s Block Civil Secretariat on Friday.
Let Gen (Retd) Asim Bajwa proposed that a Mother & Child Hospital as well as one Nursing College may be developed alongside the CPEC in Punjab.
The Minister said the department would work closely with the CPEC Authority while identifying projects in cities around CPEC routes. She further said that location reviews may be made in future meetings. She nominated Special Secretary Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department Ajmal Bhatti as the focal person for coordination with the CPEC Authority. “Punjab is laying special emphasis on mother and child health facilities. We have aligned our projects with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and we are developing state-of-the-art Mother and Child Hospitals in Attock, Layyah, Mianwali, Bahawalnagar and Rajanpur. We plan to develop Nursing Colleges with these hospitals. South Punjab is under special focus as development indicators require serious work in these districts,” Dr Yasmin Rashid said. She gave a brief roundup of the health initiatives taken in Punjab in the last one year. She added that Punjab has brought over 26,000 human resources into the system and was also increasing the strength of beds in the Burn Centers in the province.