KARACHI: While there was no item on the order of the day directly related to Thar, issues pertaining to the drought-hit district dominated the provincial assembly proceedings on Monday when three health bills were passed into law.

The three bills which were passed into law by the assembly unanimously after a brief discussion were The Sindh Epidemic Diseases, The Sindh Eye Surgery (Restriction) Bill, and The Sindh Tuberculosis Notification Bill, 2014.

During consideration of the bills, however, former health minister Dr Saghir Ahmad, who was held responsible for lack of medical facilities in Thar in a leaked report, disclosed that the entire primary health care system had been handed over to a non-governmental organisation, People’s Primary HealthCare Initiative, Sindh, for the past seven to eight years.

He claimed that the health minister or the health secretary had no role and writ in the affairs of the NGO that had also been given one third of the total health budget.

The former minister belonging to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement said he had visited Thar after taking over the health ministry to look into the working of PPHI, which was recruiting staff and running health facilities in the area independently. During the session, which was presided over by Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani, the issue of setting up a public sector university in Hyderabad, Karachi water supply project K-IV, call to cancel contract of the NSUSC for cleanliness of Sukkur and other cities and empowering the municipal corporation and the issue of non-implementation of four Karachi mega projects were highlighted through call attention notices.

It was claimed that the PPHI activated 1,954 dispensaries though it could not made the 110 existing dispensaries functional as reported in the report. He also asked as to why Punjab disbanded it and why Faryal Talpur did not allow entry of the PPHI in Shaheed Benazirabad district while the NGO was also denied any role in Karachi if its performance was laudable as mentioned in every budget speech.

Dr Saghir asked who had donated five mobile medical dispensaries, as mentioned in the report, and where they were at present. He said there were reports of children’s death in hospitals which was not only from hunger but there could be some other factors as well.

He asked the new health minister to evaluate the performance of the PPHI, check how effective the malnutrition programme was and who was supervising the basic health units and make them responsible for the current situation.

Speaking on the bill on tuberculosis disease, PML-F lawmaker Imtiaz Ahmad Shaikh said he had paid a visit to the Mithi hospital in Thar where the situation improved and from availability of doctors almost all necessary medical facilities were made available. But he regretted over unavailability of medicines and doctors in the government hospitals in the province. He gave the example of Shikarpur hospital where neither doctors nor medicines were available. He said that the provincial health department had released medicines worth four million rupees for the Shikarpur hospital but they did not reach there.

Another PML-F lawmaker, Nusrat Sehar Abbasi, said there were dumps of garbage in every district while costly machineries were rusting in hospitals. What is the use of legislation and spending millions of rupees on house business if laws were made only to be kept in shelves, she remarked.

Highlighting the need for the implementation of laws in letter and spirit, she said that 60 to 70 children died in Thar due to unavailability of treatment and medicines. Some 490 doctors missing from duties were getting regular salaries and asked the government what action it had taken against the doctors.

PPP minority member from Thar Dr Mahesh Malani said deaths in Thar were not the result of lack of medical facilities, but due to the drought and famine conditions prevailing in Thar.

Information and Local Bodies Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, who was blamed in the leaked report alleging that one of the mobile dispensaries was seen in use at his farm house in 2008, criticised the media for reporting the ‘unverified report’. He said the government believed in the freedom of the media, but it was the responsibility of the media not to use ‘fake reports’, as the ‘leaked report’ did not carry any name or signature of its author.

He said he had no farm house in Thar, while he built his house in 2010.

He said death of children was regrettable. But the point to ponder here was that why hype was created over the two deaths in Thar when 600 children died in Pakistan daily, he added.

Health Minister Mehtab Dahr taking part in the discussion said he had sent the health secretary to assess the situation and report. He said he himself paid a surprise visit to the Institute of Chest Diseases, Kotri, on Sunday. This was done because the government wanted to implement an improved programme for delivery of service, he said, adding that notices were being issued to the doctors who were getting salaries while staying out of the country on leave. If they didn’t want to serve, they would be removed from the service, he said.

While referring to the order of the day, he said he would give details of the factual situation in Thar when the issue would be taken up in the assembly.

The three bills which were passed into law by the assembly unanimously after a brief discussion were The Sindh Epidemic Diseases, The Sindh Eye Surgery (Restriction) Bill, and The Sindh Tuberculosis Notification Bill, 2014.

The house, which was called to order at 11.15am, was adjourned at 4.30pm to meet on Tuesday.

Published in Dawn, November 11th, 2014