PESHAWAR: The long-delayed 300-bed specialised children’s hospital affiliated with the Khyber Institute of Child Health (KICH) desperately requires Rs2 billion to become operational in June this year.

Officials in the health department told Dawn on Sunday that the federal government had begun the construction of KICH and the children’s hospital in 2012, but the project was yet to see the light of day owing to the unavailability of funds.

Due to the delay in the release of Rs2.5 billion, the necessary equipment could not be purchased to date, officials said. The provincial government had promised to finance the hospital to make it operational, and would get the funds when the Centre released them.

“However, the provincial government has said that the funds will be provided towards the end of May from savings of other projects, which means that the hospital will face further delays,” the officials said.

Officials say civil works, staff recruitment and purchase of equipment yet to be completed

Meanwhile, health minister Khaliqur Rehman and health secretary Shahidullah Khan are trying to prevail upon the finance department to provide funds on an urgent basis, especially for the installation of firefighting systems and generators at the facility.

The officials said that Chief Minister Mohammad Suhail Afridi was also aware of the need for a specialised hospital because other provinces had more than one children’s hospital, except Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where children were transported to other provinces for specialised care.

A few months ago, the government also accorded the status of Medical Teaching Institution (MTI) to KICH and the children’s hospital with a view to fast-tracking its launch, but to no avail.

“The project has no ownership because being a specialised hospital, it isn’t part of the constituency of any lawmaker, due to which they are making no special efforts to get the funds,” senior officials at the health secretariat said.

Presently, the department wants the C&W department to complete the remaining civil works and hand it over to the health department, so that the board of governors can start the recruitment of staff and procurement of equipment.

The painfully long delay has also led to an increase in the construction cost and revisions of PC-1s from time to time.

The Pakistan Paediatrics Association (PPA) has long been demanding that the government provide the much-needed funds for the hospital to first start OPD and later expand services gradually.

On Sunday, during the annual general meeting of the PPA, the participants said that the BoG was actively working to ensure early completion of the hospital.

On the occasion, the “Outstanding KP Paediatrician Award” was conferred upon Prof Mehr Taj Roghani, in recognition of her exemplary public and professional services for the rights and welfare of children in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2026