Under a public-private partnership, 741 patients will benefit in the first phase on a first-come, first-served basis
Mustafa Kamal. Photo: ARCHIVE
As many as 741 cancer patients from Islamabad, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan will receive free medicines worth nearly Rs 10 crore each in the first phase of a five-year public-private partnership initiative.
The Ministry of National Health Services on Friday signed an agreement with multinational pharmaceutical company Roche to supply the drugs. As per the agreement, the Government of Pakistan will contribute Rs 1 million per patient, while Roche will cover the remaining Rs 9 million.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Federal Health Secretary Hamed Yaqoob Sheikh said that patients from Islamabad, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan would benefit from the initiative. He added that the partnership will last for five years, during which thousands of cancer patients are expected to receive treatment.
Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal said the facilities would be available at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) for eligible patients from all three regions. He noted that 13 million Pakistanis have fallen below the poverty line due to diseases, while cancer treatment alone costs nearly Rs 9.8 million per patient over a five-year period.
The minister added that under this initiative patients with lung, liver and breast cancer will be treated. He emphasized that health reform includes both the treatment and prevention of diseases, including the provision of clean water, and credited the prime minister’s leadership for continued improvements in the health sector. He stated that cancer devastates entire families and that this initiative aims to alleviate the financial and emotional burden of patients across the country.
