Posting of seventh health secretary in 18 months raises concerns

• Adhocism prevalent in ministry despite Pims tragedy • Several wings and depts still being run through acting heads, undermining continuity ISLAMABAD: While consistency in policies is considered directly linked to the continuity of secretaries’ tenures in ministries and divisions, the federal health ministry has had its seventh secretary during the 18-month tenure of Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal. Health experts believe the ministry is suffering severely from adhocism, which is widely practised in most of its ancillary departments and facilities. A senior ministry officer said the health minister was not empowered to remove or appoint secretaries as such appointments were made through the Cabinet Secretariat and Establishment Division.

According to a document available with Dawn , Dr Muhammad Fakhre Alam Irfan, a BS-22 officer of the Pakistan Administrative Service currently posted as Power Division secretary, has been assigned additional charge of National Health Services secretary, in addition to his existing duties, for three months or until the posting of a regular incumbent, whichever is earlier. No lessons learnt A health expert, requesting anonymity, said it was strange that even after the incident at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), in which 14 newborn babies were burnt alive, the health ministry was still being run through adhoc arrangements. “Currently, Pims, Polyclinic, a number of wings of the health ministry and departments are being run through acting heads. It is strange that seven health secretaries have been changed during the last 18 months. If we look at the health director general, we will see an almost similar trend as hardly any director general served for three months,” he said. When asked about the changes in…