KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has directed the health department to improve health services all over the province so that Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) could be controlled. “This should be taken as a target and I want you to show the results. I would personally visit each and every health facility to witness their performance.
This he said while presiding over a meeting of Health Department here at the Chief Minister House on Tuesday. The meeting was attended by Minister for Finance Syed Murad Ali Shah, Minister for Health Jam Mehtab Dahar, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Sikander Mendhro, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Alamuddin Bullo, Secretary Finance Sohail Rajput, Secretary Health Iftikhar Shahlwani and other senior officers.
The Secretary Health giving presentation to the chief Minister said that Infant Mortality Rate, out of 1000 live births, has been recorded at 74 during 2013-14. “Under Millennium Development Goals (MDGs 2015) this would be brought down to 40,” he said and added that Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR), out of 100,000 live birth, has been recorded at 210 and under the MGD 2015 it would be brought down to 140.
Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah expressed dissatisfaction on the figures and said “the health department has to work hard to improve health services. The Infant Mortality Rate and Maternal Mortality Ratio are very high. This must be controlled by activating vertical health programmes.”
Health Minister Jam Mehtab Dahar replying to a question of the chief minister said that child under-nutrition in Sindh is 40 percent while the national under-nutrition percentage is 29. On this the chief minister directed the health minister to launch an awareness programme for mothers and make the nutrition programme launched by World Bank more effective.
Replying to a query of the chief minister, the health minister said that medicines were being provided to 61 to 71 percent patients. On this the chief minister said that the medicine budget was enough to cover over 90 percent patients but there seemed to be an administrative problem. “I want you to develop a mechanism so that every patient could be given medicines free of cost in all government hospitals and dispensaries,”
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah told the health department that he would start paying surprise visits of all the government hospitals to witness the performance.
CM directs health dept control IMR and MMR by improving health services
