Healthcare in Pakistan: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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Despite the increase in public health facilities, Pakistan's [[population growth]] has generated an unmet need for healthcare.<ref name=":63">{{Cite journal|last=Shaikh|first=Babar|date=2015|title=Private Sector in Health Care Delivery: A Reality and Challenge in Pakistan|journal=J Ayub Med Coll Abbottabad|volume=27|issue=2|pages=496–498|pmid=26411151}}</ref> Public healthcare institutions that address critical health issues are often only located in major towns and cities. Due to the absence of these institutions and the cost associated with transportation, impoverished people living in rural and remote areas tend to consult private doctors.<ref name=":123" /> Studies have shown that Pakistan's private sector healthcare system is outperforming the public sector healthcare system in terms of service quality and patient satisfaction, with 70% of the population being served by the private health sector.<ref name=":23" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Pakistan's healthcare system {{!}} Pakistan Today|url=https://archive.pakistantoday.com.pk/2020/01/08/pakistans-healthcare-system/|access-date=2021-06-17|website=archive.pakistantoday.com.pk}}{{Dead link|date=July 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The private health sector operates through a fee-for-service system of unregulated hospitals, medical practitioners, [[homeopathic doctor]]s, [[Hakim (title)|hakeems]], and other [[spiritual healers]].<ref name=":63" /> In urban areas, some public-private partnerships exist for franchising private sector outlets and contributing to overall service delivery.<ref name=":73">{{Cite journal|last=Shaikh|first=Babar|date=2005|title=Health Seeking Behaviour and Health Service Utilization in Pakistan: Challenging the Policy Makers.|journal=Journal of Public Health|volume=27|pages=49–54|doi=10.1093/pubmed/fdh207|pmid=15590705|doi-access=free}}</ref> Very few mechanisms exist to regulate the quality, standards, protocols, ethics, or prices within the private health sector, that results in disparities in health services.<ref name=":63" />

Even though nurses play a key role in any country's health care field, Pakistan has only 105,950 nurses to service a population of 241.49 million people,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pakistan Population |url=https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/Press%20Release.pdf}}</ref>, leaving a shortfall of nurses as per [[World Health Organization]] (WHO) estimates.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-08-23|title=Pakistan needs 'a million more nurses'|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/2039989/pakistan-needs-million-nurses|access-date=2021-05-04|website=The Express Tribune|language=en}}</ref> As per the Economic Survey of Pakistan (2020–21), the country is spending 1.2% of the GDP on healthcare <ref>{{Cite web|title=Health expenditure: 1.2pc of GDP against WHO-recommended 5pc|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/847694-health-expenditure-1-2pc-of-gdp-against-who-recommended-5pc|access-date=2021-06-17|website=www.thenews.com.pk|language=en}}</ref> which is less than the healthcare expenditure recommended by WHO i.e. 5% of GDP.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2003|title=How Much Should Countries Spend on Health?|url=https://www.who.int/health_financing/en/how_much_should_dp_03_2.pdf|website=World Health Organization}}</ref>

==Cancer care==

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==Malnutrition==

[[Malnutrition]] is one of the most significant public health problems in Pakistan, and especially among [[Children and adolescents in Pakistan|children]]. According to [[UNICEF]], about half of children are chronically malnourished.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.unicef.org/health/pakistan_91810.html|title=Fighting malnutrition in Pakistan with a helping hand from children abroad|work=UNICEF|access-date=2018-02-21}}</ref> National surveys show that for almost three decades, the rates of [[Stunted growth|stunting]] and acute undernutrition in children under five years of age have remained stagnant, at 45 percent and 16 percent, respectively.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.actionagainsthunger.org/countries/asia/pakistan|title=Pakistan {{!}} Hunger Relief in Asia {{!}} Action Against Hunger|website=actionagainsthunger.org|access-date=2018-03-14|date=2011-07-07}}</ref> Additionally, at the “national level almost 40% of these children are underweight...and about 9% [are affected] by [[wasting]]”, diseases where muscle and fat tissues degenerate as a result of malnutrition.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/ag/agn/nutrition/pak_en.stm|title=Nutrition country profiles: Pakistan summary|website=fao.org|access-date=2018-03-14|archive-date=2020-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200409232737/http://www.fao.org/ag/agn/nutrition/pak_en.stm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Similarly, approximately 42 % of women in Pakistan in reproductive age are [[anemia]] as per National Nutritional Survey-2018,<ref>{{Cite news |title=UNICEF. "Pakistan national nutrition survey 2018: key findings report." UNICEF: Islamabad, Pakistan (2018).}}</ref> , with a slightly higher percentage in villages than in urban areas. Anemia is commonly caused by iron deficiency.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thenews.com.pk/print/29240-malnutrition-in-%20pakistan-severest-in-region-report|title=Malnutrition in Pakistan severest in region: report|website=thenews.com.pk|access-date=2018-03-14}}</ref>

A significant contributing factor to this issue is food insecurity; The [[World Food Programme]] estimates that nearly one in two Pakistanis are at risk of food insecurity.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.wfp.org/stories/pakistan-8-hunger-facts|title=UN World Food Programme|access-date=2018-03-14|archive-date=2020-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200409232724/http://www.wfp.org/stories/pakistan-8-hunger-facts|url-status=dead}}</ref> This in turn can be attributed in part to the rapid [[Urbanisation in Pakistan|urbanisation]] and mass migrations caused by the Great [[Partition of India]] and Pakistan, and the [[Urbanisation in Pakistan|resulting issues]] with infrastructure and government, as well as other factors.