Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has initiated a groundbreaking public welfare project aimed at delivering essential medicines to the doorsteps of up to 200,000 patients across the province for free.
Announcing the initiative at a ceremony, Maryam emphasized the importance of ensuring access to vital medications for diseases such as hepatitis, tuberculosis, and heart disease, all provided free of cost.
"The public welfare project has been announced in a short period of time. Medicines for hepatitis, TB and other diseases will be delivered to homes of 200,000 patients for free," she stated.
Expressing her personal commitment to the project, Nawaz stated, "From today, I will take medicines to a few houses myself." adding that medicines for heart diseases will also be delivered free of cost.
She also highlighted plans to continue providing a stock of medicine to ensure continued medication. She said after five years, no one would be left deprived of medical treatment in Punjab, adding that 32 field hospitals had been launched for the people.
The CM further unveiled plans to launch 200 mobile clinics soon, providing healthcare facilities in rural areas. She reiterated her commitment to prioritizing public welfare and criticized previous administrations for neglecting healthcare services. She emphasized the importance of politics centred on service delivery and criticized efforts to undermine the progress initiated by her administration.
Maryam remarked that the PML-N initiated good projects for development, but the chaos is orchestrated and the country goes back by decades. She also criticised her opponents, saying they had abolished provision of free medicines in the last five years. She reiterated that there will be a state-of-the-art hospital in every district of Punjab.
Addressing concerns about the country's development trajectory, Nawaz emphasized the detrimental impact of regressive policies and underscored the importance of continuing initiatives aimed at uplifting communities and ensuring equitable access to healthcare services.
Later, the CM herself went to patients' homes with free medicines. She travelled to the house of Rasoolan Bibi while passing through the narrow lanes of Shadman katchi abadi services quarters. On seeing the CM, the elderly patient got emotional. Maryam sat on the bed with the patient and asked about her well-being.
She also travelled to the house of another patient in the Shadman katchi abadi. She presented him with medicines along with a rider.