MULTAN-The health workers observed on Tuesday strike on call of Grand Health Alliance (GHA) and locked up all rural health centres and big hospitals across the South Punjab against privatisation of health sector.
The protesters brought out rallies from their hospitals and centres and marched towards Chowk Kutchehry. All the rallies assembled up at Chowk Kutchehry where they staged a sit-in. The protesters shouted slogans against the government and demanded immediate halting of privatisation.
Speaking on the occasion, Maqbool Gujjar, Dr Zeeshan Haider, Rana Imran, Madam Rukhsana and others said that the government committed financial assassination of health workers by privatising this sector. They warned that the Grand Health Alliance would not let rulers sell out health sector to their blue-eyed people.
They pointed out that although the Chief Justice of Pakistan had taken notice of this loot sale and sought answer from the government, health department and 56 private companies, still the rulers wanted to privatise the health sector. They pointed out that many hospitals, labs and blood banks had been sold out while sanitation system of radiology departments, security, mail and medicine supply had been given to private contractors as a result of which the systems at public hospitals collapsed. They said that the price of healthcare went horribly up due to privatisation which resulted into a serious decline in the number of patients visiting public sector health outlets.
