Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Minister for National Health Services, Regulations, and Coordination, Abdul Qadir Patel, said on Tuesday that the government was making efforts to utilize all available resources to ensure primary health care services and achieving universal health coverage (UHC) in the country.
The minister said this on the occasion of a national event jointly organized by the Health Ministry and Agha Khan University (AKU). The event was aimed at sharing the experience of the Universal Health Coverage-Benefit Package (UHC-BP) in the country and its provincial localization and reviewing future challenges and opportunities.
Patel said that Universal Health Coverage was the only way to guarantee the socioeconomic well-being of our communities in the context of health. He added that maintaining progress toward UHC was challenging and was, foremost and first, a political choice.
Patel appreciated the provincial and federating area health departments and development partners for their extensive support and contribution towards universal health coverage.
Health ministry efforts
State Minister for Health Dr Mahesh Kumar Malani said that the Health Ministry was committed to helping the people maintain and improve their health to bring the country’s population among the healthy nations in the region.
Malani said that the development of national and provincial Essential Packages of Health Services (EPHS) was a significant milestone in the healthcare reform journey for Pakistan.
On the occasion, WHO Representative Dr Awad Mataria greeted the Government of Pakistan for its consistent effort toward developing a national package of basic health services and localization at the federating and provincial levels.
Mataria stressed that as the EPHS had been developed, its implementation was crucial, and multi-sectoral collaboration was crucial. He added that the health security agenda should be enhanced along with the programmatic monitoring.
