Sindh govt not procured even a single dose of Covid-19 vaccine, claims Fawad

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain on Tuesday said that the Sindh Government had not procured even a single dose of vaccine.

He said this while addressing a press conference after the Federal Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

He further said that the federal government, on the other hand, had spent some Rs111 billion to procure vaccine for the people of Sindh and provide them relief under the Ehsaas Programme.
He said the federal government had launched a countrywide National Health Card programme, but unfortunately the people of Sindh were deprived of the facility due to the reluctance of provincial government to make its contribution. The Punjab Government, however, had allocated Rs400 billion for the purpose, he added.

As regards the federal cabinet decisions, the minister said Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination Dr Faisal Sultan and Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar briefed the forum about the new variant of coronavirus – Omicron.

The number of cases had started increasing across the country, he said while urging the masses to strictly adhere to the standard operating procedures to suppress its spread.
He said the rise in import bill was due to procurement of the coronavirus vaccine from abroad. So far an amount of Rs2 billion was spent in that regard.

The minister clarified that the heads of families should be registered with the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) to avail the facility. Initially, the programme was launched in Lahore, Sahiwal and D G Khan divisions, while the people of whole Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province were already its beneficiaries.

Under the scheme, he said, the families could avail free medical treatment of up to Rs1 million per year in case of hospitalization. The government hospitals were already providing free medical treatment outdoors, he added.
He said some sections in the media were misinterpreting the initiative that it would encourage the private sector hospitals at the cost of government institutions. The private sector was, in fact, included to provide quality health facilities to the people.