The federal government’s decision to significantly reduce the health ministry’s budget represents a serious step backward, threatening the already subpar quality of public health facilities and moving the country further away from the UN Sustainable Development Goal of universal health coverage by 2030. The budget for this year has been slashed by one-third, down from an already unimpressive Rs21 billion to just Rs14 billion.
Reductions have also been seen in other related expenditure areas. No money has been allocated for new projects, and even existing ones are having to work with shoestring budgets. Such deep cuts will severely limit the government’s ability to build new facilities or expand existing ones, directly undermining the capacity to provide care.
The main reason for the spending cuts is austerity, but the government still fails to understand that health and education are engines of long-term growth. An educated workforce, for example, is also a skilled workforce that will be able to readily supply workers in new industries. Meanwhile, universal health coverage is a critical investment in the nation’s human capital and economic stability, because a healthy population is more productive, and protecting citizens from catastrophic out-of-pocket health payments is a proven mechanism for preventing families from falling into poverty.
While the government must make difficult fiscal choices, dismantling healthcare infrastructure is short-sighted. As evidenced by similar cuts in the US and other countries, reducing health funding not only endangers public health, but can also harm local economies and lead to job losses. We cannot sell our futures for nominal gains today. Prioritising investments in health is a down payment on a more equitable, healthy and prosperous future for all Pakistanis.
The government must find ways to pump up the health budget and reaffirm its commitment to building a resilient healthcare system for everyone, rather than leaving development as an ‘aspirational’ goal.
