PMA Calls for National Medical Emergency as Pakistan’s Health System ‘Near Collapse’
PMA Calls for National Medical Emergency as Pakistan’s Health System ‘Near Collapse’
Karachi: The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has called for the imposition of a national medical emergency, warning that the country’s healthcare system is rapidly heading toward collapse.
Speaking at a press briefing at PMA House in Karachi, association leaders said the session was not a routine policy discussion but a call to declare a national medical emergency, as the public health system is becoming increasingly paralyzed.
PMA officials highlighted that Pakistan’s population has surpassed 257 million, while public health spending remains below one percent of GDP. They noted that, contrary to standards recommended by the World Health Organization, Pakistan has only one nurse for every 2,500 patients.
The association revealed that more than 3,000 specialist doctors have left the country in 2025 alone. In rural areas, 45 percent of basic health units are non-functional, while doctors in urban hospitals frequently face violence in emergency wards.
According to PMA, 40 percent of patients admitted to major city hospitals suffer from diseases caused by contaminated water. Diseases such as polio and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) typhoid are re-emerging. Around 34 million people in Pakistan are living with diabetes, and the country has the highest rate of breast cancer in Asia.
The speakers further stated that Lahore’s Air Quality Index has reached 501. Every day, 675 newborns and 27 mothers die due to preventable causes.
PMA officials also criticized the deregulation of medicine prices, saying it has led to a 45 percent increase in the cost of drugs for blood pressure, diabetes, and asthma. They reported shortages of 80 essential medicines, including insulin, and alleged that the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has failed to play an effective role.
The association demanded that the health budget be increased to at least three percent of GDP, prices of life-saving medicines be frozen, and violence against healthcare workers be declared a non-bailable offense. It also called for clean water supply to be made a national priority.
Additionally, PMA urged reforms to make the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) a transparent institution, the imposition of taxes on tobacco and sugary drinks to establish a National Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) Commission, security and incentive packages for nurses and rural doctors, and strict regulation of essential drug prices.
