RAHIM YAR KHAN, Oct 21 (APP): Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Friday said his government was making every effort to reduce the miseries of common man by providing them better life amenities.
“I want to ease the lives of common people by giving them access to basic facilities in a respectable way, particularly better health services,” the Prime Minister said in his address at the launch of PM’s Health Card scheme in Punjab, here in Rahim Yar Khan.
The Prime Minister said poor people in the country had little or no access to healthcare and in case of diseases like cancer or cardiac diseases, they were unable to afford expensive treatment.
He said the PM’s Health Card scheme would enable the patients’ access the public and private hospitals on panel, even for the treatment of cancer, cardiac issues including by-pass surgery and angioplasty, liver diseases such as hepatitis, pregnancy and post-natal complications, injuries and burns.
The limit of medical cover will be up to Rs 0.3 million, however on exhaust of limit, the treatment would be completed with the financial assistance of Bait ul Maal, he said.
He mentioned that 0.39 families had so far been registered with the Scheme in the cities including Islamabad, Quetta, Kotli, Skardu, whereas work in Lasbela and Khanewal was in progress.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif particularly lauded the efforts of State Minister for Health Saira Afzal Tarar and Maryam Nawaz in successful implementation of the Health Card scheme.
He also appreciated Azad Kashmir Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider, Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, and the chief ministers of Balochistan and Gilgit Baltistan for taking personal interest in the project.
A toll-free telephone number 8500 is available 24/7 for public and NADRA (National Database and Registration Authority) has been tasked to facilitate over this, he added.
The Prime Minister said he always had a passion to serve the masses particularly the underprivileged segment of society and stressed that every government should realize and fulfill the similar moral and religious responsibility.
“Governments come and go, however their main objective should remain to facilitate the common man. This is what they would be accountable for in the world hereafter,” he said.
Nawaz Sharif recalled that he had set-up a kidney hospital in Swat when was in Opposition, because of the pain he felt for the people of area who had no facility of treatment of renal diseases.
The Prime Minister said he was committed to set-up 50 new hospitals across the country.
APP/Hamza/mka
