This has not happened before. At least in the last twenty years I have not heard any senior government official publicly admitting this major flaw in the government's planning and strategy. This was very clear to us all who were dismayed by Pakistan's lackluster performance in improving the health standards in Pakistan, but it seemed decision-makers were oblivious to it.

Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal openly admitted two basic reasons for failure in improving health system in Pakistan. He said without controlling our population growth (highest in the region), there is a widening gap between resources and needs. Pakistan crude birth rate is more than 25 as against just 16 both for India and Bangladesh. That in simple terms means that every year the net population (live births minus deaths per year) of Pakistan increases by 5 million.

So, every resource of Pakistan needs to be increased including new hospital beds, schools and other infrastructure to provide facilities for 50 lakh newly added people........

© The Express Tribune