Islamabad: Calling for a national health insurance scheme, Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal said on Monday that the federal and provincial governments are spending around Rs 1,156 billion annually on health, yet barely 10 percent of the population is satisfied with the services offered at public sector health facilities across the country.
“By spending between Rs 210 billion or a maximum of Rs 400 billion annually on a universal health insurance programme, more than 90 percent of Pakistan’s population could receive free healthcare, covering almost all treatments except organ transplants,” he said while speaking at the Multistakeholder Technical Workshop on Strengthening Pharmacovigilance Systems in Islamabad.
Calling for health promotion and disease prevention, he said a major shift in strategy was required to improve health outcomes. He added that even developed countries were struggling to provide treatment to their populations and were moving towards prevention by promoting “lifestyle medicine”, where no medicine is involved.
“We can provide quality healthcare to the entire nation through insurance and by engaging public and private hospitals. This will reduce the burden on government hospitals and enhance access to treatment,” he said, urging doctors and health workers to serve patients with honesty, empathy and compassion.
Mustafa Kamal announced that a modern Health Complaint Management System was being set up at the National Institute of Health (NIH), including a four-digit helpline that will receive citizens’ health-related complaints and ensure they are addressed by the relevant authorities without delay.
He expressed deep concern over Pakistan’s rising dependence on imported vaccines, stating that the country currently spends 500 million dollars per year on vaccine procurement, which could reach one billion dollars annually in the coming years. “We are knocking on every door to secure technology and start local production of vaccines and biologicals to strengthen Pakistan’s health sovereignty,” he said.
The minister said Pakistan’s health system remained treatment-focused rather than preventive, which he termed unsustainable. He said even rich and developed countries could not treat every patient with medicines and equipment alone, which is why the world was moving toward lifestyle medicine and prevention.
“When I visit a public hospital, it feels like a large public gathering or jalsa is taking place. Hospitals are overflowing because people get sick due to avoidable reasons. True healthcare begins outside hospitals,” he said.
Mustafa Kamal cautioned that Pakistan lagged far behind global health trends and risked remaining stuck in outdated debates. “The world is on track to overcome cancer in the next decade. We, on the other hand, are still arguing whether vaccines are permissible or not,” he remarked, urging a national reset toward scientific thinking and preventive care.
He said Pakistan was among the world’s highest-burden countries for hepatitis, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, and that lifestyle reforms, early screening and awareness had become essential pillars of health policy.
Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) Chief Executive Officer Dr Obaidullah said medicines and biological products were chemicals designed to treat diseases, but all drugs have known side effects and adverse reactions. He said adverse drug reactions (ADRs) were rarely reported in Pakistan, which meant the country had no local data to assess medicine safety.
“Without ADR reporting, we cannot ensure the safety of medicines. Countries recall unsafe drugs all the time as per global practice, but we need data for evidence-based action,” he said. Citing the Punjab Institute of Cardiology tragedy, he said a lack of a functioning safety monitoring system in the past had led to preventable deaths.
He said DRAP was advancing towards WHO and international accreditation, and that a proper reporting mechanism for ADRs and Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) was now being developed. “Vaccines can cause AEFI, which is common and expected. What matters is timely reporting, investigation and corrective action,” he said.
Dr Obaidullah said WHO was providing technical support, capacity building and training to DRAP and provincial health departments to strengthen Pakistan’s pharmacovigilance system.
WHO Representative in Pakistan Dr Luo Dapeng shared remarks on patient safety and medicine regulation, stressing that safe medicines were a global public health priority. He said WHO was supporting Pakistan in aligning its medicine safety systems with global standards by building capacity, harmonising SOPs, improving regulatory maturity and strengthening collaboration between DRAP and provincial authorities.
He said sharing data, improving reporting culture and enhancing communication with the public and healthcare professionals were essential for preventing harm from medicines.
The four-day workshop, organised by DRAP in collaboration with WHO, aims to strengthen Pakistan’s pharmacovigilance system, harmonise ADR and AEFI reporting across provinces, upgrade SOPs and data systems, and help Pakistan progress toward WHO Global Benchmarking Tool Maturity Level 3 for regulatory systems.
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