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PESHAWAR, Feb 19 (APP):The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, on the special instructions of Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur, has taken another unique initiative to ensure universal health coverage by including free OPD (Outpatient Department) services in the Sehat Card Plus.
The Chief Minister formally inaugurated the free OPD services in a ceremony held here at the Chief Minister’s House, on Wednesday. Provincial Cabinet Members, Members of the National and Provincial Assembly and officials from the Health Department attended the ceremony.
According to details, the OPD scheme is being launched as a pilot project in Mardan district, benefiting fifty thousand deserving households. In the second phase, the scheme will be extended to Chitral, Malakand, and Kohat districts.
Under this scheme, medications, medical tests, and healthcare services will be provided free of cost. The pilot project is being launched in collaboration with the German organization KfW and will be further expanded in the future. Based on the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) data, approximately one hundred and twenty thousand deserving households from above mentioned four districts will benefit from this facility.
Free OPD services will be available not only at hospitals already on the Sehat Card panel but also at all Basic Health Units (BHUs) and Rural Health Centers (RHCs) at the Union Council level. Notably, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has become the first province to provide free OPD services under the Sehat Card Plus.