ISLAMABAD: During a meeting of the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on Thursday, Federal Minister for Planning, Development & Special Initiatives and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Ahsan Iqbal, sanctioned five major health sector projects as part of the government’s “Uraan Pakistan” social development program.
Out of these, three projects totaling Rs 12.524 billion received approval from the CDWP, while two larger schemes valued at Rs 56.823 billion have been referred to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for final endorsement.Minister for National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination, Mustafa Kamal, was present at the session to support and advocate for the health-related proposals from his ministry.
One of the most notable projects reviewed was an updated version of the Sehat Sahulat Program, which was approved at a cost of Rs 40.188 million and forwarded to ECNEC. This initiative, part of the government’s Social Health Protection framework, aims to extend inpatient health insurance to all permanent residents in Islamabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan, using national identity records. The scheme seeks to significantly lower out-of-pocket health expenses and catastrophic hospital bills by up to 60%, especially benefiting low-income and vulnerable groups.
The revised Sehat Sahulat Program will be executed through the development budget across Islamabad Capital Territory, Azad Jammu & Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan, with a focus on enhancing overall public health outcomes. A key objective is to bolster social safety nets for low-income families by reducing their financial burden related to hospitalizations. Ahsan Iqbal emphasized restoring the program to its original goal of assisting underprivileged families, criticizing previous expansions that stretched resources thin and limited access for those most in need. The initiative was initially launched in 2015 as the Prime Minister’s National Health Program.
Additionally, Iqbal approved a revised plan for establishing “Jinnah Hospital (Polyclinic PGMI-II)” in G-11/3, Islamabad, with a total estimated cost of Rs 15.948 billion. The upgraded hospital will expand its bed capacity from 311 to 400, incorporating modern IT infrastructure, biomedical equipment, solar power, HVAC systems, and operational improvements. The project is now scheduled for completion by June 2027. Iqbal highlighted concerns over rising costs and urged for more accurate planning and budgeting, also instructing that a mosque be included within the project budget.
Two other projects received approval: the development of an “Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response System (IDSRS)” with a cost of Rs 7.484 billion, and “Border Health Services at Points of Entry in Karachi,” valued at Rs 2.865 billion. Additionally, a Rs 2.175 billion project was approved to upgrade cardiology and other departments at the Federal Government Polyclinic Hospital in Islamabad.
During the review, Iqbal stressed the importance of ensuring that health infrastructure investments become operational swiftly after completion, warning that delays in functionality undermine their intended purpose of serving the vulnerable populations. When discussing the IDSRS project, he explicitly stated that this approval represented the final revision, and no further modifications would be considered by the forum.
