Neglecting Balochistan

BALOCHISTAN’S healthcare sector reflects a long history of administrative shortcomings and deep structural neglect. The provincial health secretary’s admission that over 80pc of residents have no access to primary healthcare shows the scale of deprivation. Despite claims of reforms, the lived reality for millions remains unchanged. True, Balochistan’s vast geography, scattered population and poor road connectivity complicate service delivery. But these challenges are neither new nor insurmountable. What is alarming, however, is the persistent underinvestment and slow pace of meaningful reforms. When compared to Punjab’s health budget of Rs550bn, Balochistan’s entire development allocation of Rs250bn, spread across all sectors, reveals the structural imbalance that continues to marginalise the province. Human resource shortages are rightly cited as core issues. The promotion of several hundred medical officers is a step forward but can hardly solve an entrenched problem on its own. Doctors and paramedics cannot be expected to perform miracles in facilities that lack basic equipment, dependable electricity or even functional buildings. The common assertion that the strength of a healthcare system lies in its workforce risks becoming a convenient deflection. A workforce however committed cannot compensate indefinitely for systemic neglect.

Encouragingly, initiatives such as digitisation and satellite connectivity for telemedicine offer some promise. But technology alone cannot substitute for physical access in a province where many communities remain cut off due to poor infrastructure. Without roads, even the best equipped hospitals remain out of reach. What Balochistan requires is not piecemeal reform but a sustained political commitment that prioritises health as a fundamental right. This includes significantly increased funding and policies tailored to the province’s unique challenges. Until then, the burden will continue to fall unfairly on an overstretched workforce and ultimately on the people who remain deprived of even the most basic care.

Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2026

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