Medical professional bodies in Sindh issued a severe rebuke to the provincial government on September 14, claiming that officials are creating a defective parallel medical network by handing over all remaining basic health units across the province to the People’s Primary Healthcare Initiative (PPHI), as reported by Dawn.
Medical Bodies Protest PPHI Transfer Across Sindh Districts
Medical professional bodies in Sindh strongly condemned the provincial government’s decision to hand over all remaining basic health units (BHUs) to the People’s Primary Healthcare Initiative, as reported by Dawn. Healthcare personnel across various districts staged demonstrations against the sweeping transfer, denouncing the measure as an immediate peril to their professional stability. According to Dr. Farrukh Rauf of the Young Doctors Association Sindh, authorities have systematically eroded career avenues for medical practitioners by shifting public facilities to an external body.
“Each BHU has seats for healthcare providers including doctors. The government has done grave injustice by privatising the healthcare system,” Dr. Rauf stated, as noted by Dawn. He added that the Young Doctors Association strongly opposes the move and plans to hold a press conference soon to address the issue.
Concerns Over Non-Medical Leadership and Public Health Standards
The Pakistan Medical Association Centre registered profound objections to the administrative shift, pointing out that public healthcare standards have suffered under non-medical leadership. According to Dr. Abdul Ghafoor Shoro of the PMA Centre, the initiative has operated health facilities poorly under the leadership of non-medical personnel at provincial and district levels, as cited by Dawn.
“Primary healthcare is the backbone of the medical delivery system, serving the most vulnerable segments of society. Decisions of this magnitude should not be taken in isolation through bureaucratic directives without taking key stakeholders, including the medical leadership and representative bodies, into confidence,” Dr. Shoro emphasized, per Dawn. Medical representatives demanded a transparent evaluation of the initiative’s operational track record over its two-decade existence, questioning whether the entity has brought about any measurable improvement in health indicators.
Historical Context and Health Ministry Defense
Over the past twenty years, the provincial health ministry has gradually allocated roughly 1,400 basic health units to the initiative, culminating in the recent handover of the final group of more than 700 units, according to historical data. In sharp defense of the policy, a health ministry spokesperson dismissed allegations of asset privatisation as wholly erroneous, according to Dawn.
“The claims that BHUs are being privatised as entirely incorrect and misleading,” the spokesperson maintained, adding that the remaining primary facilities were transferred to the PPHI for uniformity of quality services. The official stressed that the organization functions as a non-profit company under Section 42 of the Companies Act, 2017, and receives all its funding and oversight directly from the provincial government. Officials argued this structural framework affords essential administrative agility for contractual recruitment and expedited fund utilization while ensuring existing employee benefits remain uncompromised.
Keep reading