Punjab provides over Rs18 bln worth of free treatment under special health programmes: Minister

LAHORE, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th Jun, 2026) Punjab Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique has said that revolutionary and historic initiatives launched by the Punjab government in the health sector are being implemented successfully, with free treatment worth more than Rs18 billion provided to patients so far under various special health programmes.

He made these remarks while chairing the 115th meeting of the Board of Directors of the Punjab Health Initiative Management Company (PHIMC) on Saturday. During the meeting, board members received a detailed briefing on the Punjab government's flagship healthcare projects and reviewed progress on various initiatives launched under the leadership of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif.

The board discussed in detail the proposed agreement with Punjab Life Insurance Company regarding health programmes. The company's CEO, COO and other officials briefed participants on the initiative, while board members offered suggestions and recommendations. The board also approved the hiring of a third-party validation firm to verify the distribution, utilization and receipt of thrombolytic injections under the Primary Stroke Center Programme and directed a third-party audit to ensure transparency in the Chief Minister’s healthcare initiatives.

Addressing the meeting, Khawaja Salman Rafique said the Punjab government is taking fundamental and historic steps to strengthen healthcare services across the province. He highlighted that under the Chief Minister’s Adult Cardiac Surgery Programme, free treatment worth more than Rs3 billion is being provided annually to heart patients.

He said the Chief Minister’s Special Initiative for Cancer Patients is offering free diagnostic, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, surgical and medical treatment facilities at an annual cost of Rs13 billion. Similarly, free treatment worth over Rs3 billion annually will be provided to stroke patients under the Chief Minister’s Special Initiative for Stroke Management.

The minister revealed that more than 13,425 children have undergone free heart surgeries under the Chief Minister’s Children’s Heart Surgery Programme.

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Beneficiaries include 559 children from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 339 from Azad Jammu and Kashmir, 133 from Islamabad, 42 from Balochistan, 51 from Gilgit-Baltistan and 35 from Sindh.

He further stated that 2,076 transplants have been carried out under the Chief Minister’s Transplant Programme, including 1,021 kidney transplants, 639 cochlear implants, 332 liver transplants, 43 bone marrow transplants and 41 corneal transplants.

According to the minister, more than 1.915 million dialysis procedures have been provided free of charge under the Chief Minister’s Dialysis Programme, while over 43,336 patients have been registered for dialysis services. Under the cancer treatment initiative, more than 30,462 cancer patients have been registered at PAEC and other panel hospitals, and over 65,183 treatments have been provided completely free of cost.

He added that more than 8,369 patients have so far been enrolled in the Chief Minister’s Cardiac Surgery Programme, while over 889 free heart surgeries have been completed. He reiterated the government's commitment to providing the best possible healthcare facilities to the people of Punjab and said all available resources are being utilized to achieve this objective.

Speaking on the occasion, Secretary Specialized Healthcare and Medical education Department Azmat Mahmood emphasized the need to provide maximum facilities to patients in empanelled hospitals and said instructions had been issued to resolve patient-related issues on a priority basis.

Additional Secretary Finance Khurram Aziz and Member Health Planning and Development Shafaat Ali participated in the meeting through video link. Health Economist Dr Muhammad Adnan Khan, Board Member Dr Shujaat Ali, Board Member Parveen Agha, former DG Health Punjab Dr Zahid Pervez, PHIMC CEO Dr Ali Razaq, Punjab Healthcare Commission CEO Dr Saqib Aziz, PITB Director Nosheen Fayyaz and other officials also attended the meeting.