Ministry of Health (Pakistan)

The Ministry of Health of Pakistan is a government agency responsible for Pakistan's health system. It is a branch of the Government, that is the department for provision of medical services, responsible to frame the health policies and to enforce the same at a national level. It is headed by the Healh Minister of Pakistan on democratic level, while controlled by the Federal Secretary as well as the Director General Health of Pakistan on bureaucratic level.^[1]

Besides the federal health department, each of the four provinces of Pakistan has its respective health department and Secretariate, under the supervision of a health minister of that province, controlled by a Secretary, Additional Secretaries, Deputy Secretaries, and a Director General Health Services, assisted by Director and Deputy Directors. All stand responsible to control, manage, administer medical service matters to the citizenry of their jurisdiction and frame and enforce health policies in their respective provinces in line with that promulgated by the federal health department.

The Federal Health Department runs several health service projects on national level such as National Programme for Family Planning & Primary Health Care, Polio Eradication Program, Malaria Control Program, National Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health (MNCH) Program, Expanded Program on Immunization, National Program for Prevention and Control of Hepatitis, National Tuberculosis Control Program, through the provincial health departments. Besides being responsible to handle Civil Hospitals in major cities and Taluqa Hospitals in smaller towns, it also runs and supervises thousands of health facilities like Basic Health Units, Mother & Child Care Centres, T.B. Centres, First Aid Points, Urban Health Centres, Government Dispensaries and Rural Health Centres in rural areas of the provinces. A brief details of the specific health projects as under.

• National Programme for Family Planning & Primary Health Care(LHW Programme): LHW Programme is the world's largest community based primary health care programme delivering services through 96,000 LHWs in their own communities

• Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI): EPI is aimed at immunization children against Childhood Tuberculosis, Poliomyelitis, Diphtheria, Pertussis, Measles, Tetanus and also their mothers against Tetanus.

• National Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health (MNCH) Programme: The aim of the MNCH programme is to improve accessibility and quality of health services and fill the resource gaps without duplicating inputs or activities.

• National Programme for Prevention and Control of Hepatitis: More than 400,000 persons have been vaccinated through this programme, while 104 hospitals have been well equipped to provide free of cost treatment to the patients.

• National AIDS Control Programme: Pakistan’s Federal Ministry of Health established National AIDS Control Programme (NACP) in 1986-87. In its early stages, the Programme focused on laboratory diagnosis of suspected HIV cases.

• National Tuberculosis Control Programme: Having treated 700,000 TB patients so far, free diagnosis and treatment, and public awareness regarding the disease are the main components of this programme.

The Health Department also stands responsible to run the Medical Colleges and Medical Universities in whole of Pakistan.

The Ministry of Health has been devolved to the provinces under the 18th Amendment, by the Federal Government on June 30th 2011 - http://www.health.gov.pk/^[2]

Notification No. 4-9/2011-Min.I

References

http://www.heartfile.org/pdf/104_Devolving_health_Part2.pdf