PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has approved extension of the Sehat Sahulat Programme to the whole province from the next financial year to provide free quality health care facilities to poorest strata of the society.

The decision was taken at a meeting in the Chief Minister’s Secretariat here on Wednesday, said a handout. Secretary Health Abid Majid informed the meeting that the proposed programme costing Rs1.82 billion would provide free health care services to 32 percent of the poorest population, around 1,166,388 households of the province which constitute 81,00,000 individuals.

He elaborated that under the programme to be financed by the government from its own resources, health facilities would be extended to the needy patients through insurance corporations at empanelled public and private hospitals. The secretary explained that deserving patients would be registered according to the poverty index criteria set by the Benazir Income Support Programme.

Similarly, he said that Rs25,000 would be incurred on the treatment of each deserving patient while the whole poor family would be provided Rs175,000 per year for the purpose. He said that registered patients would have the choice to select either public or private hospital for treatment. He elaborated that the health-care programme, besides reducing expenditures of the poor population and generation of additional income for the public sector hospitals would also provide incentives for health staff.

The steps, he said, would increase access of the poorest population to quality health care, improve health status of the target of population and help reduce poverty. The programme has been implemented in four districts of the province, including, Mardan, Kohat, Malakand and Chitral with the financial assistance of KFW and the provincial government.

The beneficiaries of existing programme are 21 percent poorest households are being facilitated under the programme. Similarly, 100,000 households including 700,000 individuals are provide health care services through State Life Insurance Corporation.