Healthcare in Pakistan: Navigating Challenges and Building a Brighter Future

Abstract

A healthcare system is one of the most essential pillars of any country. The primary role of a healthcare system is to ensure that all people get the best available health facilities in a timely, acceptable, affordable, and accessible manner. However, for a healthcare system to function as such, it requires proper infrastructure and financial support. To a large extent, the healthcare system in Pakistan is facing several challenges. There is a massive shortage of hospitals, doctors, nurses, and paramedical staff. Most life-saving medications are too expensive for people to afford. Now and then, there is a shortage of medicines in the market. Above all, there exists a lack of trust in the healthcare system, which gives way to the ever-increasing quackery in the country. Two parallel systems exist in the healthcare system of Pakistan. One consists of public hospitals, and the other consists of private hospitals. The former is short even of basic healthcare facilities, and the latter is too costly for the people of Pakistan to afford. Solutions to the stumbling and compromised healthcare system of Pakistan are adequate financial support and infrastructure development. Stakeholders need to invest in the healthcare system; otherwise, the healthcare system in Pakistan will continue fighting for its survival rather than improving and competing with the healthcare systems of other nations in the region. Categories: Healthcare Technology, Epidemiology/Public Health, Health Policy Keywords: integrated healthcare, healthcare inequality, healthcare strategy, challenges in healthcare, global healthcare systems Editorial A healthcare system is defined as an organized aggregation of resources and personnel that work toward delivering healthcare services conforming to the demands, targets, and satisfaction of a country's population. There are 195 countries globally, and all strive to promote health and reduce disease burden under the umbrella of global healthcare. There are four models currently used worldwide that bring together public and private facilities, providing a fitting rationale for the operation of healthcare systems [1]. Pakistan, a developing country, has kept the British healthcare system consisting of the "Beveridge model" in practice since the partition. Here, healthcare comprises a three-tier system of primary, secondary, and tertiary levels. The public and private sectors work together to provide the best possible care, but the healthcare burden, in general, has led to the failure of the deliverance of quality healthcare, more significantly in the government setup, which, in the last 10 years, has spent a meager 0.5-0.8% of gross domestic product (GDP) on healthcare, much lower than that recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), which falls at 6% of the GDP [2]. In recent times, however, Pakistan has been identifying these gaps and formulating policies that guide toward the betterment of its healthcare. The Alma Ata Declaration directed the system toward providing primary healthcare (PHC). Since then, Pakistan has covered around 70% of the rural population, providing basic healthcare facilities, such as vaccination, mother and child healthcare services, and nutrition. Later advancements have led to the inclusion of individuals' well-being, encompassing social and mental health measures along with physical health as determinants of the quality of life.