Rs17.5b free treatment facilities provided to patients under various special programmes

The Punjab government is advancing what it describes as major and transformative initiatives in the health sector, with free treatment facilities worth over Rs17.5 billion already provided to patients under various special programmes through empanelled hospitals

LAHORE, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th May, 2026) The Punjab government is advancing what it describes as major and transformative initiatives in the health sector, with free treatment facilities worth over Rs17.5 billion already provided to patients under various special programmes through empanelled hospitals.

The developments were shared during the 112th meeting of the Board of Directors of the Punjab Health Initiative Management Company on Tuesday, chaired by Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique.

The board was given a detailed briefing on key health projects launched under the chief minister’s initiatives. Senior officials, including Secretary Specialized Healthcare and Medical education Azmat Mahmood and health economist Dr. Muhammad Adnan Khan, participated via video link, along with representatives from the finance, planning and development, and health departments.

The board approved minutes of its 109th and 110th meetings and took key decisions regarding the Chief Minister’s Adult Cardiac Surgery Programme. It also approved project documents for the Chief Minister’s Special Initiative for Stroke Management. Additionally, the board cleared the revised PC-1 of the Universal Health Coverage Programme under the health insurance scheme and sanctioned an increase in the treatment package rate for cochlear implants under the transplant initiative.

Speaking on the occasion, Khawaja Salman Rafique said that “historic and fundamental steps” are being taken to improve healthcare delivery across Punjab. He noted that under the Adult Cardiac Surgery Programme, free treatment worth more than Rs3 billion is being provided annually to heart patients.

He added that under the Chief Minister’s Special Initiative for Cancer Patients, free diagnostic, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgical and medical treatment facilities are being extended at an annual cost of Rs13 billion. Similarly, under the stroke management initiative, patients will receive free treatment worth over Rs3 billion each year.

Highlighting progress in paediatric care, the minister said that more than 12,371 children have undergone free heart surgeries under the Chief Minister’s Children’s Heart Surgery Programme. Beneficiaries include patients from across Pakistan, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Kashmir, Islamabad, Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan and Sindh.

Under the transplant initiative, a total of 1,811 procedures have been carried out so far, including 911 kidney transplants, 538 cochlear implants, 287 liver transplants, 38 bone marrow transplants and 37 corneal transplants.

The minister further said that over 1.7 million dialysis sessions have been provided free of cost under the Chief Minister’s Dialysis Programme, with more than 40,000 patients registered so far.

He reiterated the government’s commitment to utilising all available resources to provide quality healthcare services to the people of Punjab.

Secretary Azmat Mahmood directed authorities to ensure maximum facilities for patients at designated hospitals and ordered that issues faced by patients be resolved on a priority basis.