Pakistan is facing many challenges in the field of Health. The healthcare sector in Pakistan consists of the Public and private sectors. The private sector serves nearly 70% of the population. The public sector consists of more than 10,000 health facilities ranging from Basic health units (BHUs) to tertiary referral centers. Currently Basic health unit covers around 10,000 people on the other hand the larger Rural health centers (RHCs) cover around 30000-450000 people.
In Pakistan, primary health care (PHC) units consist of both basic and rural health centers. According to the study, less than 30% of the population has the excess to the facilities of the PHC units and on average every person visits a PHC facility less than once a year. There are many flaws in the implementation of Health Care programs and there is discrimination as well on the basis of the locality. In urban areas, people have better healthcare facilities as compared to rural areas of Pakistan. There is gender discrimination in the field of the Health Care System. Females are given priority when it comes to nursing. We hardly see Male nurses. Lack of Resources is one of the major problems in the Health System. Shortage of Resources in health Systems is the reason that people are unwilling to use public healthcare facilities because of poor services. People in rural areas are diverted to tertiary care facilities which have a problem of distance to health care centers and also lack transportation.
Furthermore, it has been discovered that the public sector in Pakistan is underutilized due to a lack of human resources, and a lack Health education as well. The Second main problem in the health system is Poor infrastructure. There is no proper planning and policy in this field which is one of the reasons for the downfall of the Health Care System In Pakistan. This leads to inadequate healthcare facilities available to the Citizens. In the public sector, we see a shortage of Doctors, nurses, and resources as well. They do not have enough beds for the patients because they serve a big Population. Private sectors are much more expensive therefore large numbers of people turn to the public sector which built large pressure on the public sector and causes Overcrowding.
Hospitals are unhygienic and lack of Security is also a major challenge in the healthcare system. Corruption is a major issue in the health system that Pakistan is facing for the past many years. The healthcare system in Pakistan is considered more corrupt. According to the surveys conducted by Transparency International Pakistan has no national health insurance system and 78% of the population pay health care expenses by themselves. The lack of inventory Systems, poor governance, less budget allocated to the health sector, and less Salary are the major causes of corruption in that field. It affects the health care system very badly. The lack of Educated health Specialists is also a big challenge for Pakistan. The main reason is less availability of Seats in the public sector which hinders educated people to come and serve the nation. And also they do not avail themselves the good opportunities in Pakistan therefore they go abroad for the sake of their Work. In Pakistan, lack of awareness also creates challenges in the field of the Health Care System.
Awareness is much important among the Population. People in rural areas are not well aware of the vaccines, treatments, precautions, prevention, and many other health issues. This increases the pressure on the health care system of Pakistan. So it needs to start Educating people in rural areas and help them to get basic health facilities. These are the Serious health Challenges in Pakistan but we can Solve them through Policy and other major steps which are given below :
• Increasing the investment in Medical research in Pakistan.
• Initiating awareness programs.
• Control Corruption in Health System.
• Check and balance the hospitals and other health care departments.
• Raise Healthcare Standards.
• Encouraging manufacturing of medical devices In Pakistan.
