Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif chaired a high-level meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office to review progress on health sector reforms and outline new initiatives aimed at strengthening healthcare services across Pakistan.
The Prime Minister praised the Ministry of National Health Services and Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal for their efforts and reaffirmed that providing high-quality healthcare remains a top government priority. He called for collaboration between charitable organisations and the private sector to improve health services in Islamabad.
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Shehbaz Sharif stressed the importance of gaining World Health Organization (WHO) authorisation for Pakistani pharmaceutical firms, noting it would enhance drug standards and open export opportunities. He also directed the use of advanced technology to combat counterfeit medicines and reiterated a zero-tolerance policy against political interference in health reforms.
Addressing medical education, the Prime Minister ordered third-party assessments of medical colleges and a comprehensive review of the nursing sector to resolve employment challenges. Officials briefed him on the near-completion of the digitisation process for registering drugs and medical devices, with the new system reducing registration time from one year to just three months.
Plans for upcoming reforms include establishing new Basic Health Units, a Regional Blood Center, and the Isolation Hospital and Infections Treatment Center (IHITC) in Islamabad with support from donor agencies. The meeting was attended by senior federal ministers and health officials.
