Healthcare Policy


Healthcare is a fundamental right of every citizen irrespective of any socially constructed indices and developmental narratives. But this right is not an affordable luxury for all and sundry to enjoy. Owing to huge disparities on vertical and horizontal lines, people of developing countries lack adequate healthcare facilities.. Such issues of access to and availability of health-related facilities are largely influenced by social and economic conditions as well as health policies in place. Healthcare systems are the regulatory mechanism for meeting the health needs of the population. According to World Health Organization, a well-functioning healthcare system requires; vigorous financial system, reliable and educated information on which to base health-oriented policies and decisions, competent and specialized workforce, and well-maintained health facilities to deliver qualitative medicines and services.

Health plays the key role in determining the human capital. Better health improves the efficiency and the productivity of the labor force, thereby contributing in the economic growth and an improvement in the human development index. To attain more skilful, efficient and productive human capital resources, governments subsidies the health care facilities for its people. In this context, the governments of developing countries, like Pakistan are investing their energies and capital to improve its health care system.

Improving health care systems, while containing cost pressures, is the core policy challenge faced by the developing nations in the world. Pakistan, being a developing and socio-economically vulnerable state, is not immune to this challenge. In the face economic fragility and financial crisis, Pakistan has been under heavy compulsions to re-examine and re-evaluate the challenge of poor healthcare system for the clear identification of strengths and weaknesses of the system to ensure quality of life to its citizens. In order to make human capital qualitatively productive and efficient, the government of Pakistan needs to work on macro and micro level issues, ranging from organizational shortcomings to practical implementation of available resources. The strategy formulations for the reform of health care services in Pakistan need to keep in focus ground realities. The primary requirement in the amelioration of healthcare system is to allocate minimum of 10-15% budget to public spending for health and development sector. Moreover, authorities should direct their resources and services towards the expansion of immunization programs, control communicable diseases, promoting nutrition gaps between different groups, sponsor greater gender equity in their healthcare services, creating public awareness regarding hazards of drugs, ensuring capacity-building for health monitoring, and redressing inadequacies of services and logistics at all hierarchal section of the organization. To make healthy nation an actual wealth, government of Pakistan must translate all suggestions into concrete reality.