Although the administration in Punjab has taken steps to improve the health facilities in the province, the overall situation remains dismal with continuous reports of lack of facilities across the province. Punjab’s chief minister has once again reiterated his resolve for the provision of quality and modern medical facilities to the people. The chief minister chaired a meeting, which reviewed progress on the steps taken to improve the healthcare system and ongoing reform programmes in the health sector. But such statements — with nine years of governance already passed — will not rectify the worsening situation in hospitals and medical facilities overall. This is where the annual allocation of the budget comes in. With the next budget expected just before the start of Ramzan in the next month, the government is expected to take some steps while keeping the upcoming elections in mind. The allocation for the current fiscal year was Rs 43.8 billion — with Rs 24.5 billion for specialised healthcare and medical education; Rs 18bn for primary and secondary healthcare; and Rs 1.3 billion for population planning. Let us consider why this is not enough. First, a mere increase in the allocation of resources will not help here. There needs to be a comprehensive policy to focus on service delivery mechanisms, research and development (R&D) and capacity building. Second, although Pakistan desperately needs improvements in infrastructure, the government shouldn’t be prioritising these over the social sectors. The total allocation of Rs 210 billion just for the construction of roads was almost twice the allocation for the social sectors. With the next general elections approaching in a year, and a murky overall political situation, the usual appeasing tactics of announcing projects in the months before elections are unlikely by themselves to woo voters in favour of the PML-N. The vote-base of the current government will need to see real progress in critical areas like healthcare. It is important to remind the government that healthcare is a basic right and a major cause for poverty, as the poor have to sell their assets to pay for private medical facilities. It is shocking that our elites have little regard for such basic citizen needs. *