Pakistan Medical Association (PIMA) has warned of an exuberant rise in medicine prices since the recent deregulation measures, saying the surge over the last year has pushed essential and commonly used medicines beyond the reach of many patients, including middle-income households. The organisation cautioned that rising medicine prices are creating an unbearable financial burden and undermining routine access to care.
Prof. Atif Hafeez Siddiqui, Central President of PIMA, said the development is particularly worrying in a country where public health spending remains critically low, with less than one percent of GDP allocated to healthcare. He argued that scarce public resources combined with higher medicine prices further restrict the ability of families to obtain basic treatments.
PIMA urged the government to take immediate corrective measures in the public interest, stressing that while expanding investment and encouraging local manufacturing are legitimate objectives, these goals must not come at the expense of patients’ well-being. The association called for policies that balance industry growth with safeguards to keep essential medicines affordable.
The association has asked for a comprehensive review of the deregulatory framework and the introduction of effective mechanisms to ensure both affordability and nationwide availability of essential medicines. PIMA said urgent policy action is needed to halt further escalation of medicine prices and to protect healthcare access for all Pakistanis.
