Five bills approved for Balochistan's uplift

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Cabinet on Tuesday approved several Bills for the development of healthcare, technology, education and animal husbandry sector in Balochistan to bring it at par with rest of the country.

The Bills include Balochistan Vaccination Ordinance 1958, Balochistan Smart Cities Authority Bill 2020, Balochistan Digital Policy 2020, Balochistan Education Council Bill 2020, and Balochistan Livestock Breeding, Contagious Disease and Poultry Production Bill 2020.

In conformation to the prevision decisions of the cabinet, the Balochistan Health Department worked on the bills on war footing basis, and also issued orders of recruitment of over 1,026 doctors.

The cabinet was informed that among those, 496 Medical Officers, 382 Lady Medical Officers and 148 Dental Surgeons had been recruited.

Eight District Headquarters (DHQs) had been declared as teaching and Post Graduate Medical Institutes (PGMI).

Over 250 FCPS/MCPS qualified doctors had also been selected and would be posted in 11 teachings hospitals and PGMI.

The Children Hospital Quetta had been made fully functional recently by placing well-qualified processors and consultants, which would address the shortage of doctors in the province and strengthen the healthcare delivery system.

Besides uplifting several hospitals, the government of Balochistan had initiated the process to fill hundreds of vacant posts of doctors and healthcare staff, in a move described by Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan as “revolutionary steps” to improve healthcare in the province.

The government had allocated Rs 50 million each for the hospitals. The amount would be used to uplift the infrastructure and equip them with modern facilities. The procurement committees had already been formed to accomplish the process.

The new teaching hospitals are located at Loralai, Kech, Khuzdar, Zhob, Qilla Abdullah, Sibbi, Naseerabad, Kalat, Jam Ghulam Qadir Hospital Hub, Noshki and Panjgur.

Also, considering the crucial need to enhance testing capacity for COVID-19, the provincial government had decided to establish nine Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) laboratories in the province.