Evolution and Recent Reforms of Pakistan's Healthcare System
This article provides a comprehensive overview of Pakistan's healthcare infrastructure, tracing its development from post-independence shortages to recent universal coverage initiatives. Historically, the system expanded through rural health centers in the 1960s and basic health units in the 1980s, with further improvements driven by NGOs and public-private partnerships since 2000. Key institutional milestones include the 2012 establishment of the Ministry of National Health Services and the Drug Regulatory Authority. A significant move toward universal health coverage began in 2015 with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Sehat Sahulat Program (SSP), which was federally expanded by 2019 to cover approximately 44.6 million households across multiple provinces by 2022. However, a major policy shift occurred in July 2025 when the Punjab government suspended the SSP in public hospitals. This decision aimed to eliminate duplicated financial benefits by replacing the SSP with the Chief Minister’s new health initiatives, which focus on covering high-cost treatments such as pediatric heart surgeries, dialysis, and organ transplants.
Wire timeline
Evolution and Recent Reforms of Pakistan's Healthcare System
This article provides a comprehensive overview of Pakistan's healthcare infrastructure, tracing its development from post-independence shortages to recent universal coverage initiatives. Historically, the system expanded through rural health centers in the 1960s and basic health units in the 1980s, with further improvements driven by NGOs and public-private partnerships since 2000. Key institutional milestones include the 2012 establishment of the Ministry of National Health Services and the Drug Regulatory Authority. A significant move toward universal health coverage began in 2015 with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Sehat Sahulat Program (SSP), which was federally expanded by 2019 to cover approximately 44.6 million households across multiple provinces by 2022. However, a major policy shift occurred in July 2025 when the Punjab government suspended the SSP in public hospitals. This decision aimed to eliminate duplicated financial benefits by replacing the SSP with the Chief Minister’s new health initiatives, which focus on covering high-cost treatments such as pediatric heart surgeries, dialysis, and organ transplants.
Commonwealth Fund