PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health department has directed hospitals in the province to allocate dedicated wards, toilets and other facilities to transgender persons to ensure “their dignity and privacy during treatment.”

A letter sent by the department’s Health Sector Reforms Unit to hospitals on Wednesday said that as part of its responsibilities, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Protection and Welfare Policy on Transgender and Intersex Persons, 2025, the transgender persons needed respect in hospitals, so all health centres were instructed to ensure availability of separate facilities for transgender persons.

The policy, already approved by the government, has outlined the roles and responsibilities of the health department.

The unit has also directed hospital medical superintendents and district health officers to furnish the details of all available facilities with the directorate-general (health services) and ensure immediate implementation of the directives.

Health dept also seeks details of available facilities

Officials in the department told Dawn that transgender persons had already been covered by the Sehat Card Plus programme, so they’re getting free treatment in designated public and private hospitals.

They said that the premium amount for transgender persons was paid by the social welfare department, which was estimated at Rs751,000 a year.

The officials said that the State Life Insurance Corporation was implementing the programme for the government, which had registered all transgender persons in the province.

They said that the directives regarding separate facilities in hospitals would enable the transgender persons to avail themselves of uninterrupted healthcare.

The officials said that transgender persons often faced issues from the general public who looked down on them in public places and it was very difficult for them to get treatment in the hospitals’ general wards.

They added that under the initiative, transgender persons would get dedicated wards, rooms and other services.

The officials said that the government had taken the decision after receiving complaints that transgender persons weren’t getting admissions and faced violence at health facilities.

They said that as many injured transgender persons had complained about delayed treatment in hospitals, under the new policy, the hospitals would extend special treatment to them.

The officials said that the representatives of transgender persons had held meetings with former chief minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur and demanded provision of better health facilities.

They said that a special policy had been announced to ensure better services in hospitals for the underprivileged community.

The officials said that besides hospitals in large cities, the health department had directed healthcare centres at district levels, too, to give priority to the medical care of transgender persons.

They said that most transgender persons were deserted by their families due to social pressures and they’re mistreated by the general people.

The officials said that the allocation of separate hospital wards and facilities would ensure “protection and respect” of transgender persons seeking medical care.

They said that some transgender people suffered from HIV/Aids and other potentially fatal diseases for which they needed continuous medication.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2025