Staff Reporter Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali has said that the Prime Minister of Pakistan, during his recent visit to Karachi, told him that the federal government could not run three hospitals, NICVD, JPMC and NICH, therefore he gave provincial government go ahead to operate them. He said that during the discussion, the prime minister said that he knew how difficult it was to run a hospital, therefore the provincial government has to run these three hospitals. The CM was talking to media just after inaugurating seven-day polio eradication drive by administering drops to children at Rural Health Center in Baldia area on Monday morning. To a question, Murad Shah said that during the recent visit of the PM the issue of administrative control of three hospitals, JPMC, NICVD and National Institute of Child Health (NICH) came under discussion. The prime minister said he was well aware that how difficult it was to run a hospital, therefore he gave him [CM] go ahead to control these three hospitals. Shah said that he has given two options to the federal government. “Under the option number one the federal government can give these three hospitals on the pattern of PPP mode to Sindh government. The option number two is to hand over the provincial government to operate the hospitals under its administration,” he said and added if the federal government was serious to operate these hospitals he would have no objection but then they [fed govt] would have to return the money his government has been investing in these health facilities from 2011 as was directed by the federal government. Replying to a question about increase in the polio cases, the chief minister said that a problem was created against polio vaccine in KPK, therefore the drive had come to standstill and we could not launch it in last March. “The recent increase of 19 cases in 2019 is the result of that stalemate, otherwise we had controlled the polio and we had only one case in 2017,” he said. Earlier, when the chief minister reached RHC Baldia, he was received by Minister Health Dr Azra Pechuho, Secretary Health Zahid Abbasi, Commissioner Karachi Iftikhar Shahalwani, and Program Manager of anti-polio drive.
