ISLAMABAD: The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on Thursday approved a Rs40.188 billion Sehat Sahulat Programme to provide universal health coverage in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) for two years, ending June 30, 2027.
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The programme, part of the broader Uraan Pakistan social sector initiative, aims to ensure equitable access to quality healthcare, particularly for poor, vulnerable, and underserved populations. It will cover secondary and priority inpatient treatments for all permanent residents in the three territories, reducing out-of-pocket expenses and catastrophic hospitalisation costs by up to 60 per cent.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to formally launch the project within the coming days. The initiative was one of five health sector projects worth a total of Rs79.35 billion cleared by the CDWP in a meeting presided over by Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal.
Originally launched in 2015 by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the Sehat Sahulat Programme was designed to provide full health coverage to low-income households. Over time, the scheme was expanded to cover other segments, which, officials noted, resulted in resource misuse. The government has now reverted to focusing on vulnerable groups and restoring the programme’s original name: the Prime Minister’s National Health Programme.
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Under the revised framework, the programme will be implemented through the development budget, with CDWP referring the project to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) for formal approval. Alongside the Sehat Sahulat Programme, the CDWP also cleared three smaller health projects worth Rs12.5 billion and referred two larger projects, including Rs15.95 billion for Jinnah Hospital (Polyclinic-II), to Ecnec.
Officials said the renewed health coverage initiative represents a key step toward strengthening Pakistan’s social safety net and improving public health outcomes in federal territories.