ISLAMABAD: While Pakistan continues to spend less than 1pc of its gross domestic product (GDP) on the health sector, almost all health-related indicators have improved compared to the last eight years.

However, the country still presents a bleak picture in the South Asian region where all health indicators remain better than those of Pakistan.

According to the Pakistan Economic Survey 2024-25, public health expenditure was 0.9pc of GDP and Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) allocation in health sector was Rs103.5 billion. However, the data showed that a significant progress had been made in the health sector, including an increase in life expectancy at birth to 67.6 years in 2023 from 65.6 years in 2015. Similarly, an expansion in immunisation programme has been observed such as the rise in diphtheria pertussis tetanus (DPT) immunisation from 72pc of children in 2015 to 86pc of children aged 12-23 months in 2023.

Maternal mortality ratio (per 100,000 births) has reduced from 276 (as per data of 2007) to 186 in the year 2019. Neonatal mortality rate (per 1000 live births) was 45 in 2015 which reduced to 37 in 2023. Similarly, infant mortality rate (per 1000 live births) has reduced from 64 in year 2015 to 50 in 2023.

However, the prevalence of HIV has doubled as it was 0.1pc of the population aged 15-49 in 2015 but increased to 0.2pc of the population of same age group in 2023.

Regional comparison

In the South Asian region, the health landscape remained challenging. As of 2023, the average life expectancy of South Asian countries stood at 71.6 years. Maternal mortality rates were recorded at 120 per 100,000 live births. The infant mortality rate in 2023 was 30.2 per 1,000 live births while the mortality rate of children under five years stood at 34.8 per 1,000 live births.

Human resource in the healthcare sector

It is important to have sufficient healthcare professionals to ensure the efficient delivery of health services. In the year 2024 there were 319,572 registered doctors and 39,088 registered dentists compared to 299,113 doctors and 36,032 dentists in 2023. This represents an increase in the number of registered doctors and dentists by 5.9pc and 8.7pc, respectively.

Similarly, there were 138,391 nurses in 2024 compared to 134,708 in 2023. The number of midwives hardly increased to 46,801 in the year 2024 from 46,404 in 2023 while there were 26,405 lady health workers in 2023 and the number increased to 29,163 in 2024.

Global Hunger Index

Pakistan has been ranked 109th among 127 countries in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2024 with a score of 27.9. GHI is a comprehensive tool that measures and tracks hunger at global, regional and national levels, primarily assessing key indicators such as the percentage of the population that is undernourished, child stunting, child wasting and the under-five mortality rate. For Pakistan, these indicators stand at 20.7pc, 33.2pc, 10pc and 6.1pc, respectively.

While Pakistan witnessed an improvement in its GHI score from 2000 to 2016, the score has risen at a higher speed since 2016 from 24.6 to 27.9 in 2024, indicating a serious level of hunger.

Several factors have contributed to food insecurity in Pakistan, including high inflation, fiscal constraints and recurrent natural disasters. The devastating floods of 2022, triggered by extreme rainfall, led to a severe food crisis, underscoring the impact of climate change on agricultural productivity and food availability.

Compared to regional countries, Pakistan performed better than Afghanistan which has a GHI score 30.8, but trails slightly behind India (27.3) and moderately behind Bangladesh (19.4).

Published in Dawn, June 10th, 2025