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KARACHI, Dec 03 (APP):Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari inaugurated the newly established Dr Syed Haroon Ahmed Dialysis Centre and the Zubeida Mustafa Lithotripsy Unit at the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) Trust Hospital.
Developed under the Government of Sindh’s Public–Private Partnership (PPP) mode, these state-of-the-art facilities mark another major milestone in strengthening Karachi’s public healthcare system and expanding access to quality medical services for the people.
While inaugurating the health facilities, he described all initiatives—carried out in collaboration between the Sindh government and SIUT—as a source of pride.
He paid tribute to Dr Adeebul Hasan Rizvi, the visionary behind SIUT and one of the country’s foremost social figures, for his long-standing and exceptional contributions to the health sector.
He added that following Sukkur and Larkana, the Sindh government, in partnership with Dr Rizvi, will now establish SIUT facilities in Gujar Khan, Sargodha, Rahim Yar Khan, and Dera Ismail Khan.
He also announced that a large, state-of-the-art SIUT hospital will be constructed in Larkana by 2027. Highlighting the growth in support, he pointed out that after the 18th Amendment, the Sindh government began funding SIUT at Rs6 billion, which has now increased to Rs 21 billion this year.
Bilawal Bhutto pointed out that as a result of the 18th Constitutional Amendment and the devolution of powers to the grassroots level, there has been remarkable improvement in Sindh’s public health sector.
He said that at SIUT, NICVD, NICH, JPMC and Gambat Hospital, citizens from Sindh as well as from across the country receive all treatment facilities free of cost.
He said that before the 18th Amendment, the condition of institutions like NICVD, NICH and JPMC was no secret, but today they have transformed into world-class institutions. He further said that NICVD is now the world’s largest institute providing free treatment for cardiac diseases.
He said that the Sindh government created a network of health facilities that can compete at the international level by ensuring direct funding for public hospitals and providing services under the public-private partnership model. He said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa introduced the Health Card and allocated the entire health department budget to this card, claiming that through it they were providing free treatment facilities to the entire population of the province.
He further added that the biggest injustice in this system is that the government takes money away from its own public health institutions and transfers it to private hospitals that are run entirely on commercial, profit-making lines.
He emphasized that the federal government already has the forum of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) available to ensure coordination with the provinces.
PPP chairman said that serving the poor and marginalized segments of society is the philosophy of the PPP. He said that we want to establish a Pakistan where there is no divide between the rich and the poor, and where healthcare facilities are available to everyone.
On this occasion, Dr Adeebul Hassan Rizvi, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, Provincial Minister for Health and Population Welfare Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, provincial ministers, members of the assembly, party leaders, and various political and social figures were also present.