PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health department has decided to extend the Sehat Sahulat insurance programme to the transgender community of the province.

In this regard, provincial secretary health Mohammad Abid Majeed has written a letter to the secretary social welfare department asking him to provide required data and mobilise resources to pay for the premium of the transgender population of the province.

The letter, a copy of which is available with Dawn, says the health department had launched a landmark social health protection scheme to extend health protection up to 51 per cent of the province’s population. It said the programme was now being extended to 69 per cent of the population based on their poverty score ascertained by the BISP.

It said the health department had submitted a summary to the chief minister with a request to grant approval for consultation with the State Life Insurance Corporation (SLIC), and the departments desirous of having health insurance and to develop a mutually agreed insurance product with suitable premium and benefit package.

The letter said the chief minister approved the proposal and the matter was discussed with SLIC, which said that apart from other desirous groups, it would offer health insurance to the transgender community on priority basis.—Bureau Report