Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi on Wednesday laid the foundation stone of ‘Chaudhry Parvez Elahi Institute of Post Graduate Studies’ at Pakistan Kidney & Liver Transplant Institute (PKLI).
While announcing another mega project in the health sector, the CM said the institute would be established in PKLI Lahore with the cost of Rs3.5 billion, adding that funds had been allocated for establishing the institute and doctors would be imparted specialized training in 17 subjects after MBBS while nurses would be imparted specialized training in 10 subjects.
The CM while announcing to earmark 10 acres of land for setting up new block at the Fatima Jinnah Medical University stated that the land would be allocated in the Knowledge Park of new block of Fatima Jinnah Medical University.
He apprised that two acres land would also be earmarked for Punjab Human Organ Transplant Authority (PHOTA), adding that the land would be earmarked in the Knowledge Park for PHOTA. He informed that opportunities of courses to doctors, nurses and relating to management would be provided in the Chaudhry Parvez Elahi Institute of Post Graduate Studies. Latest courses training would be imparted for the Post Graduate Training. He outlined that funds for the bone marrow transplant centres had been allocated and a ban for recruitment in the PKLI had been lifted.
Provincial Minister for Specialized Healthcare Dr. Yasmin Rashid and Secretary Specialized Healthcare Ahmed Javed Qazi gave a briefing to the CM about the Chaudhry Parvez Elahi Institute of Post Graduate Studies.
Assembly Members Hafiz Ammar Yasir, Syed Sumsam Bukhari, Principal Secretary to CM Muhammad Khan Bhatti, Former President Bank of Punjab Hamesh Khan, Secretaries of Information, SHC&ME, Finance, DGPR, Chairman PKLI Prof. Dr. Abdul Majeed Chaudhry, Dean PKLI Prof. Faisal Dar, Board Members of PKLI and concerned officials also participated in the ceremony.
Meanwhile, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) country representative Dr Luay Shabaneh on Wednesday called on Chief Minister Punjab Chaudhry Parvez Elahi at his office and agreed to make cooperation more effective for population welfare, especially family planning.
The CM announced the recruitment of approved vacant posts in the Population Welfare Department and added that the government would go all out to achieve the family planning targets. He added that people in rural and urban backward areas would be sensitized about the importance of family planning. Family health clinics and welfare centers would be made more functional and initiatives would be regularly monitored at tehsil and district levels, he stated.
The CM said that the provincial government had decided to give a special package, under the Punjab Ehsaas Program, to families adopting family planning measures.
He said that rapidly increasing population was a threat to human survival on the planet as rampant population growth increased health, educational, environmental and employment problems. Public cooperation with government efforts was indispensable to overcoming population-related problems. By controlling the population, the quality of life could also be improved, he said and concluded that all should work to raise societal awareness about population planning.
Dr Luay Shabaneh noted that the Parvez Elahi-led Punjab government was taking exemplary steps for population welfare. “We are happy that Chief Minister Parvez Elahi’s programs for population welfare are showing encouraging results. We will continue to work closely with the Punjab government regarding population welfare,” he added.
Also, Parvez Elahi gave a prize of Rs500,000 and a certificate of appreciation to rescuer Abdul Rehman who led the rescue operation of safely descending a man who ascended the clock tower in Faisalabad.
He also gave a reward of one lakh rupees each and certificates of appreciation to rescuers Arsalan Ahmad, Rafaqat Beg, Fahad Amin and Engr Ehtisham for their role in the rescue operation.
The CM appreciated their hard work and commitment to duty to save the citizens and added that Rescue 1122 has the honor of being the first to arrive in disasters or difficult times. “The Faisalabad rescuers have set a high example of duty and we are proud of the institution. I had created this institution which, today, is like a big shade to the needy,” he added. DG Rescue 1122 and others were also present.
