A high-level meeting chaired by Minister of State for Health, Dr. Mukhtar Bharath, was held to review and strengthen healthcare services in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT). The session was attended by the Director General Health, District Health Officer (DHO), and other senior officials from the Ministry of National Health Services.
During the meeting, ongoing health projects were thoroughly reviewed, and clear directives were issued to accelerate future actions. Special attention was given to the 14 medical camps planned in underprivileged union councils of ICT, with an emphasis on ensuring their successful implementation.
Dr. Mukhtar Bharath reiterated his vision to transform Islamabad into a model city for healthcare, emphasizing the need to strengthen the Primary Healthcare System. “A robust primary care system will reduce the patient load on tertiary hospitals,” he stated.
He further noted that an integrated strategy has been developed to expand Universal Health Coverage (UHC). He directed the development of an effective real-time health data system to support timely decision-making and policy implementation.
Key decisions made during the meeting included:
Implementation of digital reporting across all health facilities in ICT.
Approval of a Technical Working Group, which will convene on May 23 to devise a comprehensive strategy for system integration, including the adoption of a “One Patient, One ID” framework.
Development of a digital dashboard to track the availability of health services, linked with the DHO ICT website.
Formulation of a roadmap to empower the District Health Officer, including new appointment models based on 89-day performance evaluations to ensure uninterrupted healthcare delivery.
A one-month training course for vaccinators, in collaboration with the Health Services Academy.
The Minister directed the DHO to evaluate the operational status of the CDA dispensaries to ensure service quality. He also emphasized the importance of community engagement and called for a robust media campaign to raise public awareness on health initiatives.
Dr. Bharath appreciated the recent outsourcing achievements in sanitation and security services and welcomed further efforts to enhance diagnostic services under public-private partnerships.
He instructed health authorities to intensify dengue prevention efforts, eliminate identified hotspots, and take necessary steps to increase routine immunization coverage to 95%. Joint actions by the CDA and DHO Office were also mandated to improve coverage.
