Thousands benefit from Punjab government health initiatives, says Salman Rafique

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Mar, 2026) Punjab Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique has said that thousands of patients have benefited from treatment in Punjab’s specialized hospitals where surgeries were performed and free medicines worth billions of rupees were distributed.

He expressed these views while presiding over a meeting at the Punjab Health Initiative Management Company on Saturday regarding the Chief Minister’s health initiatives.

During the meeting, the provincial minister was briefed on the monitoring framework of various health projects, service delivery and measures taken to facilitate patients. Public feedback regarding new and unique health projects was also reviewed.

Khawaja Salman Rafique emphasized the importance of ensuring transparency in flagship programs, improving service quality and strengthening monitoring mechanisms to provide maximum convenience to patients.

The minister said that millions of patients have benefited from services in specialized hospitals across Punjab. He added that surgeries were carried out and free medicines worth billions of rupees were provided to patients.

He further said that progress is underway on the Chief Minister’s Special Initiative for the Cancer Patient Card in Punjab. Work is also continuing on special programs related to cancer treatment and additional cardiac surgeries.

Khawaja Salman Rafique said that under the Chief Minister’s Children’s Heart Surgery Program, more than 11,200 children have undergone completely free heart surgeries across the province at a cost of billions of rupees.

He added that under the same program, 450 children from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 262 from Azad Kashmir, 110 from Islamabad, 29 from Balochistan, 40 from Gilgit-Baltistan and 27 from Sindh have also received free cardiac surgeries in Punjab.

The minister said that under the Chief Minister’s Special Initiative for the Transplant Program, a total of 1,405 transplants have been performed so far, including 737 renal transplants, 390 cochlear implants, 230 liver transplants, 16 bone marrow transplants and 32 corneal transplants.

He further stated that under the Chief Minister’s Dialysis Program, more than 1.478 million patients have received free dialysis treatment, while over 37,000 patients have been registered in hospitals for dialysis services.

Khawaja Salman Rafique also said that the recruitment of thousands of new doctors and nurses on 100 percent merit is being carried out through the Punjab Public Service Commission. After the approval of the provincial cabinet, doctors are also being recruited on an ad hoc basis in various hospitals.

He added that the OPD block of the Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cancer Treatment and Research will soon be made operational to help save the lives of thousands of patients. He also said that all available resources are being utilized to make the Jinnah Institute of Cardiology in Lahore functional at the earliest to provide the best healthcare facilities to the people of Punjab.

Additional Secretary Development Department Specialized Healthcare and Medical education Ameera Baidar and CEO Punjab Health Initiative Management Company Dr. Ali Razaq also attended the meeting.