Islamabad, In a decisive move to bolster Pakistan’s healthcare sector, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired a crucial meeting today, focusing on the complete eradication of polio and significant improvements in medical facilities nationwide.
According to Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, during the meeting, the Prime Minister directed the deployment of top health professionals within the Ministry of Health and its relevant departments to ensure the provision of superior medical services. He announced the construction of the state-of-the-art Quaid-e-Azam Health Tower in Islamabad, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive action plan under a public-private partnership model.
Shehbaz Sharif expressed his determination to eliminate polio from Pakistan, stressing the importance of using all available resources and collaborating with various stakeholders to achieve this goal. He also called for a third-party audit of nursing schools and colleges and the Drug Regulatory Authority to enhance the overall quality of healthcare education and regulatory practices.
The meeting highlighted several key initiatives, including the separation of drug pricing from the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) and the enhancement of health infrastructure through the National Action Plan 2025-30. This plan addresses the growing needs of the population and includes purchasing medical equipment and ambulances worth 711 million for hospitals in the Federal Capital, which will also undergo a third-party audit.
Progress was noted in waste processing at hospitals in Islamabad, the installation of a modern Hospital Management System, and the development of the National Blood Transfusion and Blood Products Policy. Additionally, the preparation of the National Policy Framework on Nursing and Midwifery is nearing completion, with plans to increase the number of nursing graduates by introducing evening classes at some colleges.
Future healthcare infrastructure developments include the establishment of Plasma Fractionation Centers and Pharma Park, aimed at upgrading the country’s health facilities significantly. The Prime Minister was informed of the ongoing efforts to produce various vaccines locally and the setup of machinery and equipment in Quetta’s tertiary care hospitals.
Further commitments were made to establish a 50-bed hospital in Musakhel, a tertiary care and Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and an Institute of Medical Sciences and Danish Hospital in Gilgit-Baltistan, marking a significant expansion in healthcare accessibility across the country.
Federal Ministers Ahsan Iqbal and Ahad Khan Cheema, along with the Prime Minister’s Coordinators Malik Mukhtar Ahmed and Rana Ehsan Afzal, and other senior officers were in attendance, demonstrating the government’s unified approach to these health sector enhancements.