ISLAMABAD: The federal government has allocated $6.8 million under five-year initiative to tackle the alarming rise in diabetes cases across the country.
The government has budgeted allocation of Rs3 billion for the programme in the current fiscal year, with an additional Rs800 million planned for the next year. Implementation agencies are currently being shortlisted to roll out programme components efficiently.
Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal on Tuesday emphasised the urgency of a unified and comprehensive national approach to tackle the alarming rise in diabetes cases across the country.
Chairing the second meeting of the Steering Committee for the Prime Minister’s Diabetes Prevention and Control Programme, the minister said, the programme was aimed at raising awareness and providing preventive care to 33 million Pakistanis, adding the five-year initiative, with a total estimated cost of $6.8 million, was scheduled for completion by 2029.
Senior officials from the Ministry of Health, provincial representatives, and relevant institutions participated in the meeting.
The minister stressed that diabetes was not just a health issue but a national development challenge as it was silently eating away at country’s population’s health like termites. It is the root of many severe illnesses, and unless we act decisively, the burden will cripple the healthcare system.
The five-year national programme aims to educate, screen, and treat millions across the country through a coordinated effort involving both federal and provincial stakeholders. He also stressed the importance of collaboration, adding each province has been working independently, but now we must unite under a national action plan. Only then can we deliver results that match the scale of the crisis, he added.
Pakistan is currently among the three countries where diabetes is spreading most rapidly. It also ranks among the five countries most affected by tuberculosis and one of only three where polio remains a threat; facts that the minister said should serve as a wake-up call, he added. He lamented that Pakistan made tremendous achievements in nuclear science, yet the country’s health outcomes remain dismal. This contradiction must end, he emphasised.
On the occasion, the Ministry of Health briefed the committee on a newly-launched nationwide media campaign focusing on awareness, prevention, control, and treatment.
The campaign includes training for frontline health workers, the development of a national diabetes registry, and partnerships with universities for research and outreach.
A national consultative meeting is scheduled for July 2, where federal and provincial representatives will finalise cost-sharing mechanisms and streamline efforts for greater impact. Senior officials from the Ministry of Health, provincial representatives, and relevant institutions participated in the meeting.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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