Pakistan’s public healthcare system is experiencing increased pressure as three major Rawalpindi hospitals have collectively outstanding dues of approximately Rs2.2 billion to pharmaceutical suppliers — endangering the availability of free medicines for patients.
This is not a future risk. It is happening right now. And the people most affected are the ones who cannot afford private hospitals.
Which Hospitals and How Bad Is It?
WION News confirmed together, the three hospitals — Holy Family Hospital, Benazir Bhutto General Hospital, and Rawalpindi Teaching Hospital — cater to over 10,000 patients each day through emergency and outpatient services, and offer a total of 2,580 beds.
Despite the Punjab government’s efforts to provide free medicines in emergency wards, outpatient departments, and hospital wards, the latest financial distribution has fallen far short of requirements. During the final weeks of the fiscal year, officials released only Rs130 million for medicine — Rs50 million for Benazir Bhutto General Hospital, Rs60 million for Holy Family Hospital, and Rs20 million for Rawalpindi Teaching Hospital.
Those numbers are nowhere close to what is needed.
What the Hospitals Asked For vs What They Got
WION News detailed the gap:
- Holy Family Hospital: Requested Rs1.5 billion — received Rs400 million
- Benazir Bhutto General Hospital: Requested Rs1.5 billion — received Rs380 million
- Rawalpindi Teaching Hospital: Requested Rs800 million — received Rs230 million
Tribune India’s healthcare report confirmed the Punjab government released PKR 2.5 billion and promised to provide the remaining PKR 2 billion in May 2026 — but has not released it. Vendors have refused to provide more medicines without being paid.
In plain terms: the hospitals asked for billions, received a fraction, and pharmaceutical suppliers have now stopped supplying because they have not been paid.
What Happens to Patients After July?
A senior hospital official stated that “we managed to purchase medicines, but the situation will get worse in the coming fiscal year.” Vendors and distributors had flatly demanded clearance of all pending dues before the fiscal year ends in June.
WION News noted these hospitals also serve patients from different regions — including Islamabad, Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, and other parts of Rawalpindi Division.
If medicines run out after June 30, patients in emergency wards will need to buy their own medicines from private pharmacies. For a family visiting a government hospital specifically because they cannot afford private healthcare, that instruction is not a solution. It is an abandonment.
Why This Is a Budget Issue Too
Bloom Pakistan confirmed the government has proposed a Rs22 billion development budget for Pakistan’s health sector in FY2026-27, including funding for 21 ongoing projects and 12 new initiatives under the Public Sector Development Programme.
But the Budget 2026-27 comes on June 10. The crisis at these three hospitals is happening right now, in the last weeks of the current fiscal year, when funds have already run out.
The Rs22 billion development budget sounds significant. But the Rs2.2 billion owed to suppliers at three hospitals alone shows how large the gap is between what Pakistan spends on health and what its hospitals actually need.
My Honest Take
Pakistan keeps building new hospitals on paper and cutting the medicine budgets of existing ones in practice. The Budget 2026-27 allocates Rs1.2 billion for the Islamabad Cancer Hospital. That is welcome. But the hospitals treating 10,000 patients daily in Rawalpindi right now cannot pay for antibiotics.
The government needs to clear these dues before June 30. Not after the budget speech. Before.
Because for the patient in Holy Family Hospital’s emergency ward on July 1, a budget PowerPoint is not going to help.
This article is based on reporting by WION News and Tribune India. 24PakTimes has not independently verified the hospital figures. For health emergencies, please visit your nearest hospital or call Pakistan’s emergency health helpline 1122.
