Pakistan to face growing health risk as international funding to health sector continues to decline: report

ISLAMABAD: As international funding to Pakistan’s health sector continues to decline and major foreign donors are set to completely suspend grants by 2030, the country faces serious health risks unless urgent steps are taken by the government, it emerged on Tuesday. These are the findings of a report published last week, titled “Beyond Dependence: Understanding the Impact of ODA Cuts on Pakistan’s Health System”. The report, prepared by think tank Tabadlab, is authored by Behzad Taimur, Shahab Siddiqi and Syeda Farwa Qamar Jaffri and discusses the impact of declining Official Development Assistance (ODA) on Pakistan. ODA refers to grants and concessional loans provided by governments and international agencies to support economic development and welfare in low- and middle-income countries. The report finds that shrinking foreign assistance can threaten disease control programmes, immunisation efforts, and institutional capacity across the country. Once funding stops, it may significantly affect district-level monitoring, community outreach interventions, diagnostic testing capacity, and workforce training programmes. According to the report, global ODA flows have been declining since 2019, with a sharper decline in recent years. Total global ODA dropped from $215 billion in 2024 to $174.3bn in 2025 — a decrease of 23 per cent — and may further decline in coming years. The report warns that reductions in global health financing can have devastating consequences worldwide. Estimates suggest aid cuts may contribute to approximately 22.6m additional deaths globally by 2030, including 5.4m children under the age of five. Country burdened by weak health indicators The report paints a bleak picture of Pakistan’s health outcomes, describing the country as burdened by both communicable and non-communicable diseases. Tuberculosis, diabetes, cardiovascular illnesses, malaria, HIV-AIDS and child health complications continue to strain the healthcare system. Despite modest gains