KABUL, Nov 29 (DNA): Afghan Minister for Public Health, Ahmad Jawad
Usmani and Mansoor Ahmad Khan, Pakistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan
jointly inaugurated today an Oxygen Production Plant fixed at Muhammed
Ali Jinnah Hospital at Kabul gifted by the government of Pakistan to
cater to the needs of the Afghan patients.

This hospital is a sign of good will gesture by the government of
Pakistan where free of cost treatment is being provided to the Afghan
patients. The installment of this plant will make the doctors to treat
covid-19 patients effectively as the plant has the capacity of providing
Oxygen to more than 200 beds in addition to extra 50 oxygen balloons per
hour and around 1200 balloons in 24 hours.

Jinnah Hospital is a 200-bed, state-of-the-art hospital in Kabul, funded
by the government of Pakistan which was initiated in 2007 under the
Pakistan Technical Assistance Programme and handed over to the
government of Afghanistan in 2019 on completion.

On this occasion, Mansoor Ahmad Khan said that Pakistan had pledged
$1billion as assistance to Afghanistan. Only in health sector three
hospitals had been completed at a cost of $72 million which include
Jinnah Hospital at Kabul, Naib Aminullah Hospital at Logar and Nishter
Kidney hospital at Jalalabad.

He further stated that we had proposed that we might convert this
hospital into a Post Graduate Teaching hospital wherein doctors trained
in Pakistan could continue their post graduate training under
supervision of leading medical institutes of Pakistan.

He also expressed his view that he also wished to extend the existing
facilities in Jinnah Hospital by incorporating cancer block and other
facilities as required by the Afghan patients.

He further said that we had been closely coordinating with the Afghan
government through ministry of health and ministry of Foreign Affairs on
aforementioned proposals. He also elaborated upon new visa policy for
the Afghan nationals wherein special priority had been given to the
Afghan patients even serious patients are given visas on Torkham border
which shows serious commitment by the government of Pakistan.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by health professionals and other
dignitaries and etc.

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