Health budget up by eight per cent

CM says govt transformed JPMC, NICH, NICVD, into world-class facilities

KARACHI:

As part of the Rs3.45 trillion provincial budget for FY 2025-26, the government has allocated Rs326.5 billion to the health sector, marking an 8 per cent increase from the previous year's Rs302.2 billion. A significant portion of Rs146.9 billion is to be disbursed as grants-in-aid to public health institutions and medical units across the province.

Key allocations include Rs19 billion for the Sindh Institute of Urology & Transplantation (SIUT), Rs16.5 billion for the Peoples Primary Health Initiative (PPHI), and Rs10 billion for the construction of a new hospital in Larkana.

Further, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah announced that the government has transformed three major public healthcare institutions, including Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), the National Institute of Child Health (NICH), and the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), into world-class facilities over the past 13 years.

Delivering his budget speech in the Sindh Assembly, Shah highlighted that the combined bed capacity of the institutions has increased from 2,092 to 4,041, reflecting a significant expansion in public healthcare services. He also revealed that the construction of a new 12-storey medical tower, and a seven-storey officers' ward, is nearing completion at JPMC, stating "this will make JPMC not only the largest healthcare facility in the country but also among the largest in the world." Further, the CM stated that patient visits to the three institutions have surged from 1.6 million in 2011 to over four million in the current year.

Meanwhile, highlighting advancements in cancer care, Shah said the provincial government, in partnership with the Patients Aid Foundation (PAF-JPMC), has revolutionised radiation oncology services by introducing CyberKnife, Tomotherapy, and PET-CT facilities. He noted "this is the only centre in the world providing free CyberKnife and Tomotherapy treatment regardless of nationality, religion, or ethnicity. Patients from 168 cities and 16 countries have benefited from these services at JPMC Karachi." APP