Audit report identifies Rs3.41bn worth of irregularities in health sector
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ISLAMABAD: A recently released report by the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) has identified irregularities worth Rs3.41 billion in various ancillary departments of the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS), it emerged on Thursday. The report, available with Dawn, found fraud, embezzlement and misappropriation amounting to Rs28.41 million, procurement-related irregularities worth Rs1.779bn, and irregularities in the management of accounts maintained with commercial banks involving about Rs1.484bn. However, Rs127.27m was recovered following the intervention of the audit department. Pakistan Nursing Council According to the report, the Pakistan Nursing and Midwifery Council (PNMC) refused to have its accounts audited, in violation of orders issued by the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) in its July 8, 2013 judgment. In response to the audit intimations, the PNMC, referring to letters dated March 31, 2023, May 15, 2024, and May 21, 2025, stated that it was an autonomous body that generated its own revenue through various activities and services and did not receive financial grants from the government. The matter was reported to the secretary of the Ministry of NHS, who directed the PNMC to provide all auditable records. However, according to the report, the records were not provided by the management The audit took the view that “the stance taken by the management is in violation of the orders of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and attracts Section 14(3) of the AGP Ordinance, 2001”. It added that, as the PNMC was established and controlled by the federal government, it fell within the audit jurisdiction of the AGP. The audit recommended that disciplinary action be taken against the officers involved in obstructing the AGP’s audit functions and defying the SC’s order, and that the auditable record be provided. Federal Directorate of Immunisation The audit also identified the procurement of vaccines at higher rates due to non-compliance with the federal cabinet’s decis