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Pakistan Lawmakers Reject Most New Health Schemes, Pivot Spending to Disease Control and Ongoing Projects

Agencies must deliver verified data, screening targets plus enforcement fixes before the next review.

Overview

  • The National Assembly health committee examined 33 proposed PSDP projects and rejected most new schemes, instructing a focus on completing high-impact ongoing work.
  • Priority projects named include the National Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, Federal Medical College strengthening, 24/7 BHU upgrades, Jinnah Medical Complex Karachi, vaccine and anti-sera facilities, and select rural and Sheikh Zayed Hospital upgrades.
  • Members ordered data-driven plans for Hepatitis C, including hotspot mapping, chronic patient treatment strategies and detailed screening targets, after flagging reduced allocations.
  • On HIV, officials reported 84,400 people on treatment versus an estimated 300,000 nationally, prompting calls for more funding, prevalence surveys and tighter provincial coordination.
  • Regulatory follow-ups include a summons for DRAP on drug inspector shortages and compliance issues, plus detailed IHRA reports after 110 quack clinics were sealed, with BHU functional audits and 24/7 coverage plans due before further funding.