Saira shares her ministry’s four-year achievements

ISLAMABAD: Four years ago, Pakistan was experiencing a raging polio epidemic, with hundreds of children being crippled by the disease. The number of polio cases has declined from 20 last year to only two so far this year.

The country’s immunisation programme has been reformed through a Vaccine Management System while vaccination coverage has been enhanced by 15 to 20 per cent and free pneumococcal, Rota and IPV vaccine have been added for all Pakistani children.

Minister of State for Health Saira Afzal Tarar listed the above achievements at a press conference convened Thursday to share her Ministry’s performance over the past four years. Referring to the fiscal discipline and prudent procurement, Saira told the media that an amount of Rs1.8 billion has been saved through procurement of one vaccine against five diseases (pentavalent vaccine), and that through successful negotiations with the World Bank, $180 million have been secured for sustainability of the immunisation programme.

“The nursing sector has been transformed, and same day online registration has been introduced, replacing the erstwhile cumbersome registration process. Moreover, the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council has been revamped and purged of conflict of interest,” Saira added.  “Keeping our performance in view, our budgetary allocation in PSDP has been enhanced this year by 77 per cent from Rs30.6 billion last year to Rs54.4 billion this year,” Saira stated.

Article source: https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/209489-Saira-shares-her-ministrys-four-year-achievements