PESHAWAR: An audit report of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Department has uncovered financial irregularities amounting to billions of rupees in the Sehat Insaf Card program from 2018 to 2021.
According to the audit, irregularities worth PKR 2.861 billion were found in the Sehat Insaf Card and other related health projects.
The report revealed that private hospitals were unnecessarily included in the health facility card panel, while some hospitals that were not part of the panel received payments worth billions of rupees. Out of 48 hospitals in 10 districts, 17 were not registered in the health facility card panel.
Payments were made to unregistered hospitals under the health facility program, including two unregistered private hospitals in Swat, which received over PKR 100 million each. Additionally, 32 DHQ hospitals made excessive recruitments, causing a loss of PKR 824 million to the treasury.
A Central Management Information System (CMIS), which was supposed to be introduced by March 1, 2022, was not implemented. The CMIS was a joint responsibility of the Health Department and NADRA to streamline the health facility program.
The audit also found that complete data of patients benefiting from the Sehat Insaf Card program is not available.
This report highlights the urgent need for financial transparency and administrative reforms in the health program to ensure accountability and efficient use of resources.
