• Plan to improve availability in 13 regions, quality of primary health care
• The World Bank provides $62.5 million in aid as part of a $200 million human capital program
• Assessment shows severe gaps in health care in province
Islamabad: The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on Friday recommended Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to improve the availability and health care quality of locals and refugees for Rs 18.1 billion, and ensure aid worldwide of $62.5 million.
The CDWP meeting, chaired by Programme Minister Ahsan Iqbal, also cleared a national plan for Rs 2,000 crore to eliminate papers on eliminating AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria from the country by 2030.
Under financial rules, CDWP has the right to approve projects up to Rs 7.5 crore, and in accordance with CDWPS’s recommendations and technical approvals, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Commission (ECNEC) (ECNEC) (ECNEC) needs to approve projects with higher estimated costs.
CDWP recommends Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Human Capital Investment Project (Health Cartions) to approve it to ECNEC for a total cost of Rs 18.137 crore. The project will be implemented through the independent project management department of KP Health under the World Bank procurement guidelines and financing rules.
The project series covers 13 regions, especially Peshawar, Nowshera, Swabi and Haripur, to enhance the availability and quality of major health care services for host communities and refugees.
Under the KP Human Capital Investment Program, it is part of the World Bank’s $200 million aid covering health and primary education.
Health-focused activities under the project include upgrading primary care facilities, supporting flood-affected medical units and providing emergency support for the future. The goal of the project is to improve overall human capital by focusing on health and education in selected areas.
this World Bank Low confidence in the province’s major health institutions has been assessed, resulting in overcrowding of secondary schools and tertiary hospitals. The evaluation found that 48% of the equipment in 24/7 facilities were non-functional.
All assessed rural health centers (RHCs) lack at least one of the four basic requirements for 24/7 functionality: Human Resources (93pc), backup power (19%), equipment (93%) and 89% maintenance).
KP also faces the highest human resource shortage, with an essential healthy workforce density of 1.15 people per 1,000 people – less than half of the international benchmark. Drug availability is insufficient, with only 59% or facilities maintaining two-week stocks of 25 essential drugs. Therefore, only one-quarter of the KP population uses public sector primary healthcare facilities, with 14% entering RHC and only 7% going to the Basic Health Sector (BHUS).
This overloads secondary and tertiary hospitals, which many use as the first entry point for healthcare. These findings highlight the urgent need to strengthen primary healthcare facilities, improve efficiency, and ensure better opportunities for vulnerable groups, especially refugees, women and children.
CDWP also approved “a position document that strengthens the co-management unit of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria and accelerates control of three diseases in Pakistan” at a cost of Rs 20 billion.
The national initiative is designed to coordinate and strengthen with institutional institutions by 2030 to eliminate AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, in line with Pakistan’s global commitment under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS). An integrated technical support department will provide supervision, monitoring and technical guidance to provinces to ensure unified programming and capacity building.
In the stance paper reviewing the project, titled “Response, Prepared and Resilient Phonetic Secondary Education in Punjab” (according to the ADB Loan), the Program Minister stressed that early childhood education must remain at the heart of provincial and national education policies.
Posted at Dawn on September 21, 2025
