The Sindh Health Department has decided to hand over all primary healthcare dispensaries across the province, along with their medicines, medical equipment, furniture, medical and non-medical supplies, and other government inventory, to the Peoples Primary Healthcare Initiative (PPHI) Sindh with effect from July 1.
In this regard, the Sindh Health Department has issued a notification to all District Health Officers (DHOs), directing them to prepare complete stock inventories of all dispensaries and transfer them to PPHI through a joint handing and taking over report. DHOs have also been restricted to polio and immunization programs only.
The budget for dispensaries has been removed from the fiscal year 2026–27 budget documents, while no clear policy has yet been announced regarding the future of government staff deployed across the province.
Following this decision, considerable concern has emerged among Sindh Health Department officers and employees. Officials say that no clear policy has yet been presented regarding the administrative status, responsibilities, and future of hundreds of government doctors, paramedical staff, and other employees working across the province. According to them, government doctors will now have to report to PPHI administrative officers instead of District Health Officers, a move that has raised concerns within the medical community.
According to sources, the Sindh Health Department issues regular tenders every year for the procurement of medicines. A list of selected medicines is prepared based on the lowest rates, and all government hospitals and health centers are required to purchase medicines from the approved list to ensure transparency, quality, and protection of public resources. However, relevant stakeholders say that PPHI follows its own tendering and procurement policy, raising questions regarding medicine procurement, pricing, and financial transparency.
Health Department officials have also pointed out that the Government of Sindh had established a Health Management Cadre some time ago.
