KP budget focuses on health system, economic slowdown.

PESHAWAR -- The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa budget 2020-20 focuses on bolstering the province's health system in the face of Covid-19 pandemic and mitigation of economic slowdown by rationalisation of taxes on small businesses.

Analysis of the sectoral allocations contained in the budget documents showed that due to Covid-19 pandemic, the government had focused on the improvement of the province's health system.

Budget documents showed that KP government had extended the Sehat Sahulat Programme to the whole population of the province.

Finance minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra said in his budget speech that the government had allocated Rs10 billion to extend the universal health initiative to 6.06 million families in the province.

He said the agreement with an insurance firm for the purpose would be signed next month.

'We have set aside Rs124 billion for health sector in the forthcoming fiscal for settled and merged district which included Rs105.9 billion for settled districts up from Rs87 billion allocation last year,' he said.

Rs124bn to be spent on healthcare, Rs5bn on urban development, Rs1.1bn on tourism

Of the amount, Rs24.4 billion has been allocated for development sector in the health department, which includes Rs13.8 billion for settled districts and Rs10.6 billion for merged districts.

The minister said Rs36 billion, including Rs26 billion for current expenditure and Rs4 billion for important schemes, had been allocated for the medical teaching institutions of the province.

He added that the remaining Rs6 billion had been kept as a special fund for MTIs to improve patient care.

The annual development programme in health sector also included the upgradation of the basic health units, tehsil headquarters hospitals, district headquarters hospitals and rural health centres, he said.

'This will be included the provision of equipment to health outlets in collaboration with World Bank at the cost of Rs13 billion,' he said.

The minister said allocation for purchase of medicines for the public sector hospitals had been increased Rs2.5 billion in 2019-20 to to Rs4 billion in the next fiscal to ensure patients get free drugs, surgical disposables and treatment.

'We have planned to spend Rs1 billion to ensure proper management of hospital wastes under the public-private partnership programme to safeguard people as well the hospital workers from infections and ensure the safe disposal of infectious waste,' he said.

The minister said in view of the Covid-19...