Bilawal Bhutto Zardari reaffirmed his vision to build world-class educational and healthcare institutions in every district, stressing that access to quality health and education is a right, not a privilege. He said Sindh healthcare must be strengthened so citizens can live with dignity and receive compassionate medical care close to home.
Speaking as chief guest at the convocation of Ms Benazir Bhutto Medical University (SMBBMU) Larkana, alongside Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, he described the university’s name as a promise of courage and compassion. Recalling Benazir Bhutto’s belief that health is a form of justice, he urged graduates to keep service and empathy at the centre of their practice.
Bilawal emphasised the pivotal role of doctors and paramedics and called on healthcare professionals to align with the Sindh government’s modern public health system. He urged them to stand at the forefront of protecting citizens’ right to life, dignity and accessible care, and asked newly qualified doctors not to let education distance them from the poor patient, the anxious mother or the forgotten child.
Noting reforms after the 18th Constitutional Amendment, he highlighted that the provincial PPP government made public health a top priority. He recalled the 2015 devolution of NICVD to Sindh and said the provincial stewardship transformed it into a global example for cardiac care. He also outlined the province’s partnership with SIUT to expand services into Sukkur and Karachi and celebrated recent facility openings, crediting the efforts of Dr Adeeb Rizvi in taking these institutions across Sindh.
Bilawal pointed to the NICH expansion as another achievement, explaining that what was once a single federal paediatric centre now has multiple operational units in Karachi and new facilities in Nawabshah, Jamshoro, Sukkur and Larkana. Under a public–private partnership with the Child Life Foundation the Sindh government has established emergency services and paediatric emergency rooms across districts, part of a broader plan to extend high-quality care provincewide.
Paying tribute to former chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, he noted that the Gambat hospital in Khairpur now rivals modern city hospitals. At the same time he acknowledged room for improvement in Sindh’s educational infrastructure. He recalled the historic growth in universities—from one before Partition to 16 by 2008 and now 30—and stressed that Sindh continued supporting higher education even after federal funding for the HEC was reduced in 2017–18.
Bilawal said the Sindh government’s objective is to ensure at least one university campus in every district and ideally a full university, so youth in remote areas can pursue higher education locally. He encouraged graduates and health professionals to join the province’s efforts to deepen Sindh healthcare reforms and bring quality medical services and education to every community.
