Privatising healthcare

As work advances to hand over several primary health centres, district health centres and tehsil centres to the private sector in Punjab, a storm of protest has erupted among doctors, healthcare workers and patients. While the government defends the move as a step toward improving healthcare quality, many fear that privatisation will ultimately deny the underprivileged their constitutional right to free healthcare.

The Grand Health Alliance has been on the streets for 21 consecutive days, staging a sit-in against the privatisation of Basic Health Units and Rural Health Centers. Their protest has brought OPDs at government hospitals to a standstill for over a week, disrupting services for thousands. Meanwhile, commuters suffer as road closures and heavy police presence choke the city's main arteries. The unrest is a reflection of the fear that the contracting policy will open the floodgates for private entities to dominate the healthcare landscape, where profit, not public welfare, will drive decisions. While the government's intent to improve efficiency and service quality is understandable, the method - rapid privatisation without building a safety net - is deeply flawed. The public health sector serves as a lifeline for millions who cannot afford private care. Allowing contractors to gradually take control risks creating a two-tiered system where the poor are squeezed out entirely.

The solution lies in reform, not retreat. Instead of handing over public assets, the government must invest in strengthening the public health system: better funding, strict accountability, improved infrastructure, regular audits and performance-linked incentives for healthcare staff. Public-private partnerships can be explored, but only under transparent, strictly regulated frameworks that ensure services remain free or highly subsidised for those who need them most. The government must immediately engage with the Grand Health Alliance in meaningful negotiations, offering guarantees that healthcare access will not be sacrificed at the altar of privatisation.