Islamabad: Pakistan cannot strengthen its frontline health system without integrating policy, academia and service delivery, Minister of State for National Health Services Dr Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath said on Wednesday, as he highlighted Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s Community Health Inspector programme as a model for improving access to essential services at the community level.
Addressing a ceremony at the Global Institute of Human Development (GIHD) at Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University Islamabad, the minister said fragmented approaches to healthcare were no longer effective and stressed the need for coordinated efforts to build a skilled workforce aligned with national health priorities.
He said initiatives that link education with real-time deployment in district health systems are critical to ensuring that trained professionals contribute immediately to service delivery, particularly in underserved and rural areas.
Officials said the model being implemented through the institute is already producing Lady Health Visitors and Community Midwives who are being deployed within district health systems, in line with the Community Health Inspector programme, to improve maternal and child health services and strengthen preventive care.
Dr Ehsan Ghani, Chief Executive Officer of District Health Authority Rawalpindi, said the programme ensures that graduates are not only trained but also absorbed into the health system, enabling them to address community-level health needs from the outset.
He said the alignment with the Punjab government’s initiative is helping expand access to essential services at the household level while improving outreach and early intervention.
The ceremony marked the graduation of LHV and CMW students from the Institute of Public Health Nursing and Midwifery GIHD, many of whom are already serving in field settings.
Founding Director of GIHD Dr Syed Usman Hamdani highlighted the integration of mental health into primary care and community settings as part of the programme, describing it as an important step towards addressing a critical but often neglected component of public health.
He maintained that closer coordination between policymakers, academic institutions and district health systems would be essential for building a resilient and responsive healthcare system in Pakistan.
University leadership said the initiative reflects a shift towards practical, system-linked training models where academic institutions play a direct role in strengthening public health delivery.
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