ISLAMABAD - Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) will soon launch Sehat Sahulat Programme services in Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJ&K), said Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr. Faisal Sultan on Thursday.
A statement released by the ministry said that the 23rd National Steering Committee Meeting was held in the ministry and SAPM on NHS Dr. Faisal Sultan chaired the session.
He said that the Sehat Sahulat Programme is the biggest social health protection initiative of the country and it is moving to achieve the mission of a prosperous and healthy nation. The programme is providing services in 90 districts of Pakistan and giving services to 8.4 million families, and targeting to achieve 12.5 million families across Pakistan.
Dr. Sultan, SAPM to Prime Minister, also informed that Prime Minister has given directive of “Universal Health Coverage” for all permanent residents of Azad Jammu & Kashmir as registered in NADRA. Soon we are going to start the services in AJ&K.
The services which are available from Sehat Insaf Card include open heart surgeries, insertion of stents, management of cancer, neurosurgical procedures, burn management, accident management, dialysis, intensive care management, deliveries, C section and other medical / surgical procedures. 1,087,572 individuals have visited hospitals up till now and 299,000 have been treated for various diseases.
The programme will also provide Rs1,000 transportation cost to its beneficiaries at the time of their discharge from hospital. There is also provision of burial support as Rs10,000 per death (if occurs in hospital). There is facility of inter provincial/inter district portability for availing free of cost services from any empaneled hospital in Pakistan.
Through Sehat Insaf cards, persons with disabilities and their registered families as well as transgender persons are also provided with similar benefits without any poverty scoring.
This is the first-ever initiative aimed at well-being of the population with physical challenges and disabilities as well as for the transgender community by the Government of Pakistan.
Chief Executive Officer of Sehat Sahulat Programme informed SAPM that as per the direction of Honourable Prime Minister, there is stringent monitoring mechanism which is being maintained through feedback calls from beneficiaries, which showed 97% satisfaction rate for the services being provided by empaneled hospitals.
He ensured that with commitment and efforts this scheme will bring robust improvement in treatment and access to quality health care services to the poor and vulnerable families.
