ISLAMABAD – Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal has strongly criticised the country’s current healthcare state, declaring that Pakistan has become a machine that produces patients rather than preventing illness. He made these remarks while addressing a public event in Islamabad on Monday.
The minister said Pakistan’s environment is worsening people’s health every day. “We make people sick and then treat them. This is not a healthcare system; it’s a sick-care system,” he remarked, highlighting the alarming condition of hospitals across the country.
He expressed concern over the overwhelming number of patients, noting that Pakistani hospitals appear more like the aftermath of a political rally — one crowd exits as another enters. “No hospital in the world can treat patients under such overcrowded and poor conditions,” he added.
Touching on population growth, Kamal revealed that Pakistan’s birth rate is among the highest globally at 3.6%. This leads to an annual population increase of over 6.1 million. “Just two years ago, we were adding 5.9 million children every year,” he said, adding that this trend has left over 26.2 million children out of school.
He warned that if the trend continues, Pakistan will need to build 66,000 new schools each year and hire 680,000 new teachers to keep up. “We have exhausted the capacity of our hospitals. We don’t need an external enemy; we are damaging our system ourselves,” he said.
Furthermore, Kamal stressed that 68% of diseases in Pakistan are caused by drinking contaminated water. He pointed out that the country lacks a proper sewage treatment system, allowing untreated waste and industrial discharge to enter the drinking supply. “Even children are suffering from cancer, kidney failure, and other severe illnesses,” he warned, urging immediate action.