Punjab to give Rs. 500.62b to health sector in FY 2026-27

LAHORE, Jun 16 (APP): The Punjab government has made an allocation of Rs. 500.62 billion comprising Rs. 424.32 billion in non-development expenditures and Rs. 76.30 billion in development expenditures for health sector in the fiscal year 2026-27.

In his budget speech on the floor of Punjab Assembly here Tuesday, Punjab Finance Minister Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman said that health sector allocation in the fiscal year 2026-27 is over 10 percent higher than the total budget. During the current year, multiple initiatives have been successfully completed for the provision of free and quality treatment, public health services, upgrading of Basic Health Units, emergency and dialysis facilities, organ transplantation, and mental health services across modern hospitals, cardiology, and cancer treatment facilities.

The construction of the Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cancer Treatment and Research is underway at a cost of Rs. 75 billion, for which Rs. 20 billion has been allocated in the upcoming fiscal year.

During the current fiscal year, he added, a total of Rs. 28.94 billion has been spent on the construction of the Jinnah Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cardiology Lahore and the Institute of Cardiology Sargodha, alongside the provision of modern medical equipment. Similarly, the upgrading of old blocks at the Punjab Institute of Mental Health Lahore at a cost of Rs. 2.45 billion and the upgrading of emergency and OPD blocks at Nishtar Hospital Multan at a cost of Rs. 5 billion has been implemented.

Another key initiative, the Maryam Nawaz Health Clinic, is being implemented at a cost of Rs. 21 billion from the fiscal year 2025-26. Under this program, an outsourcing model has been adopted for 2,508 Basic Health Units (BHUs) and 115 Rural Health Centers (RHCs) to guarantee the provision of quality and timely medical facilities to the public at the village level. To make the rural healthcare facility system more integrated, 20,000 Community Health Inspectors and more than 60,000 Lady Health Workers were recruited. Over Rs. 12.58 billion was spent on all these initiatives, he maintained.

Furthermore, under the Clinic-on-Wheels project, more than Rs. 3.50 billion was spent during the current fiscal year, benefiting over 3.7 million patients. Meanwhile, for the upcoming fiscal year, Rs. 3.85 billion has been allocated. Two Air Ambulances are also operational in Punjab, through which up to 270 patients have been benefited so far.

An additional Rs. 8.66 billion was spent on the CM Initiative for Dialysis Programme, and the CM Initiative for Transplant Program is continuing at a cost of Rs. 3.64 billion. Overall, more than 140,000 patients have benefited from these schemes.

Under the Children Heart Surgery Programme, surgeries have been performed on more than 13,000 children at a cost of Rs. 3.21 billion. In the fiscal year 2025-26, Rs. 1.05 billion was spent on providing free insulin and other essential medicines to Diabetes patients. Under this program, free insulin is being provided to children suffering from diabetes without any disruption.

In the same continuation, initiatives for the restoration and upgrading of 434 Basic Health Units (BHUs) in Northern and Central Punjab have been undertaken at a cost of Rs. 9.60 billion to deliver quality and modern medical facilities at the doorsteps of the public.

In the coming fiscal year, the establishment of the Nawaz Sharif Medical District will be launched at a cost of Rs. 169 billion which will include a Children’s Hospital, Orthopedic Unit, Center of Excellence, Plastic and Burn Care Unit, and other special institutions.

He said that 15 Cardiac Surgery Units will be established, and MRI machines will be installed in 29 teaching hospitals at a cost of Rs. 9.30 billion, alongside providing modern diagnostic equipment and CT scans. The establishment of Neuro Cath Labs and Cath Labs is also a part of this budget.

He shared that Stroke Initiative under Neuro Cath Labs is being introduced for the first time in the history of Punjab. For this project, Rs. 1.75 billion has been allocated for the next fiscal year.

In addition to this, a proposal of approximately Rs. 5 billion has been made for the expansion and capacity enhancement of Emergency Services across Punjab.

To ensure the provision of quality and timely health facilities, Rs. 15.21 billion has been proposed in this budget for a Cancer Hospital in D.G. Khan. In the same continuation, a proposal of Rs. 23.37 billion has been made for the construction of a Children Hospital in Bahawalpur so that the children of Southern Punjab can be provided immediate medical aid.