Federal Minister for National Health Syed Mustafa Kamal has revived the Sehat Sahulat Health Facilitation Program in Islamabad after years of suspension to provide free treatment and quality healthcare services to deserving patients.
The program has been launched in 42 hospitals across the twin cities. In the first phase, eligible patients will receive free medical treatment for two years, while the government will work toward including free OPD services in the third year.
The announcement was made during the minister’s visit to Akbar Niazi Teaching Hospital, where he also met patients and reviewed healthcare services.
Kamal said the government is collecting real-time data on patients’ treatment and expenses to ensure transparency and fair implementation of the program. He warned that any hospital found violating the program’s rules or facilitating corruption would be immediately delisted.
The minister noted that Islamabad’s population has crossed 3.5 million, while hospitals in the capital are also receiving a large number of patients from Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Rawalpindi and other nearby areas.
He said this growing patient load is putting serious pressure on both public and private healthcare facilities.
Citing a World Health Organization report, Kamal said 13 million people in Pakistan are now living below the poverty line. He added that Rs. 2 billion has already been spent on patients’ treatment during the last five months.
He further stated that the combined health budget of the federation and provinces stands at Rs. 1,156 billion, but patient satisfaction remains below 10 percent. According to the minister, this situation shows the urgent need for major reforms and targeted intervention in the health sector.
Kamal said a comprehensive study on universal health coverage found that basic healthcare facilities could be provided with a budget of Rs. 210 billion. However, he added that Pakistan would need 5,000 more hospitals across the country to make this possible.
He described universal health coverage as the future of healthcare, saying that most countries are already moving toward this model.