Healthcare system

Pakistan's healthcare system was broken well before the Covid-19 pandemic, or even before the PTI began its crushing austerity drive. For that matter, it has been broken since before the PTI was founded. The problems that plague the healthcare system today are endemic — they have been infecting the system since before the country was founded. But unlike some places where improvements, however incremental, have been made, the healthcare system has remained frail. Low funding, a vast workforce gap, and terrible planning brought it to its knees, and there is little that can be achieved without significant new investment and massive reforms.

A recent study by Islamabad-based think-tank Tabadlab noted these problems, along with the country's struggle "to effectively and efficiently serve the needs of an ever-growing population”, pointing at overpopulation. That, of course, is another related problem that no government has been willing to tackle head-on for fear of going against the 'tradition' of having large families. The study notes that Pakistan's rapidly growing population presents increasing socioeconomic challenges, as over 63% of the population is under 30, and almost a third of citizens live in poverty – a number that has grown due to the economic fallout of Covid-19.

And while nominal GDP per capita is projected to increase to $2,283 from $1,000 in 2015, we must note that $2,200 a year still leaves us among lower-income countries. For comparison, India's nominal GDP is $2,000. Sri Lanka's is twice that. A weak healthcare system factors into our low figure. A sickly workforce cannot be an engine of economic growth. Making things worse is that the few 'quality' healthcare options available are all in big cities. Rural hospitals are almost unheard of. Pakistan ranks sixth amongst high-disease burden countries, with 40% of the diseases being preventable ones. Pakistan ranks 183rd in the world for health expenditure, the report notes. Countries with even worse economies rank above us. All because, for all their failings, leaders in these countries know that a healthy population is necessary for future success.