Balochistan Social Welfare Department Outlines Kumak Programme, Treatment and Special Education Schemes

QUETTA: Director General Social Welfare Balochistan Mir Saifullah Khan Khetran has said that, under the vision of Chief Minister Balochistan Mir Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti, the Social Welfare Department is taking several important and exemplary steps for the welfare of the province’s persons with disabilities, deserving patients and special children.

Among the priorities of the Balochistan government is providing marginalised and special persons with dignified living, better treatment, education and economic self-reliance. He made these remarks in a conversation with the state media.

Kumak Programme and Financial Assistance

According to the DG Social Welfare, an important and effective initiative of the department is the KUMAK programme. Under it, persons with disabilities are being provided with financial assistance, along with assistive devices, vocational training and interest-free loans, so that they can use their abilities and become independent and active members of society.

He said the basic aim of the programme is not merely to provide financial help to special persons, but also to make them economically stable and empowered.

He added that the Balochistan government has also continued regular financial support for special persons. Under this, eligible individuals are being given assistance in accordance with the set policy, so that they have lifelong financial security and support.

Treatment Scheme for Deserving Patients

Mir Saifullah Khan Khetran said that another important project of the Social Welfare Department is underway, through which poor and deserving patients suffering from serious and complex diseases are being provided with medical treatment facilities. The scheme covers treatment for cancer, kidney diseases and bone marrow transplants, among other complex illnesses.

Last year, around 1,700 deserving patients were provided with treatment facilities at the Aga Khan Hospital, Alshifa International Hospital and other standard hospitals in Karachi, while essential medicines were also provided to patients free of charge.

He further said that the scheme costs approximately Rs800 million to Rs900 million annually, and under the present circumstances around Rs100 million a month is being spent on it. He said the Balochistan government has also increased the funds allocated for the programme so that as many eligible persons as possible can receive treatment, and no poor family is forced to go without treatment for its patient due to financial hardship.

Special Education

According to the DG Social Welfare, the department’s services are not limited to financial assistance and medical treatment. A comprehensive system has also been established in the field of special education, under which thousands of special children are being provided with education and training through deaf schools and other special educational institutions.

Children studying in these institutions are also given free books, uniforms and lunch, so that the financial burden on parents is reduced and special children can develop their abilities in a better educational environment.

He said the Social Welfare Department had recently established a state-of-the-art deaf school, where around 400 special children are receiving education. Children there are being taught through modern multimedia and advanced teaching technology. He described the school as an important step forward in special education, adding that efforts have been made to develop it to the standards of Pakistan’s best special education institutions.

Commitment

Mir Saifullah Khan Khetran said that, under the special attention and guidance of Chief Minister Balochistan Mir Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti, the Social Welfare Department is striving to make public welfare projects more effective. He said the aim is to provide special persons, poor patients and deserving children with facilities in line with their fundamental rights, so that they enjoy dignity, self-reliance and equal opportunities in society.

He expressed the commitment that the Balochistan Social Welfare Department will further widen the scope of its welfare projects in future, so that government facilities can reach deserving people in the province’s remote areas as well.