Minister for Law Excise & Taxation, Finance Mujtaba Shuja ur Rehman has said that youth are the future of the nation and government is providing them state of the art healthcare facilities to establish healthy society in the country. He said that protective healthcare programmes would be continued to save the children from epidemic, communicable and non-communicable diseases.He said that government is using all available resources for providing better healthcare facilities to the people especially mother & child in the province and the priority areas of the targets are rural folk. He said that skilled birth attendants, LHVs and LHWs are being appointed at health centers because the MMR in LHWs covered area is 147/100,000 live births, compared 300 to 350/100,000 to uncovered areas, therefore, the LHWs, LHVs. He said that at present under five mortality rate present is 94/1000 and it will be reduced 45 till 2015(MDGs Target), new born mortality rate is 54/1000 and it would be reduced upto 25 by year 2015, whereas, infant mortality rate is 77/1000 which would be reduced 40 uptill 2015. He told that maternal mortality ratio 350-500/100000 which would be reduced 140 uptill 2015. He told that 20 percent birth deliveries are attended by skilled birth attendant and this ratio would be increased more than 90 percent by 2015
While talking to various delegations at his residence, Mujtaba Shuja ur Rehman said that Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) aims at reducing morbidity, disabilities and mortality caused by vaccine preventable diseases and during the week, vaccination against debilitating dangerous minor ailments such as Polio, Tetanus, Measles, Diphtheria, Pertussis, Hepatitis-B, Pneumonia and Meningitis. He said that immunization of children against nine deadly diseases will be free of cost at hospitals, health centers and even by mobile teams. He said that 7.5 lakh Pakistani children die of various diseases every year while a large number of children is crippled and by administering simple treatment through immunization we can save the precious lives. He said that government has reserved Rs.2 billion to achieve the millennium development goals(MDGs) whereas government has also provided Rs.121.80 billion for health sector to provide the state-of-the-art healthcare facilities to the masses in the province.
Mujtaba Shuja ur Rehman, said that purpose of Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) was reducing morbidity, disabilities and mortality caused by vaccine preventable diseases and by vaccinating all children below one year of age, in addition, all pregnant women are vaccinated against tetanus. The Minister said that in order to achieve the results of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the major focus is on protecting the health of people trough strengthening of Primary Health Care & Disease Preventive Programmes and Rs.1.80 billion are being spent for the launching of a healthcare facilities programme to mother and child.