Several flagship health programmes launched under Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz's administration have been left without substantive funding in the provincial budget for fiscal year 2026-27, according to budget documents.
The documents reveal that no regular budget allocations have been proposed for a number of high-profile Chief Minister's Special Health Initiatives, despite their estimated combined cost running into billions of rupees.
Among the programmes that did not receive allocations are the Chief Minister's Special Initiatives for dialysis, organ transplantation and children's cardiac surgery, which were launched to provide free treatment to patients suffering from life-threatening illnesses.
Similarly, no budget has been earmarked for the Chief Minister's Special Initiative for cancer patients, a programme designed to support costly cancer treatment and related healthcare services.
The budget documents further show that no allocations have been proposed for the Chief Minister's Cardiac Surgery and Stroke Initiative programmes in the upcoming fiscal year.
Punjab Health Flagship Programmes
Major CM health initiatives receive almost no funding in FY2026-27
Not Funded
- Dialysis Programme
- Organ Transplants
- Children's Heart Surgery
- Cancer Treatment Initiative
- Cardiac Surgery Programme
- Stroke Initiative
Funding Gap
Rs27.846bnDifference between estimated cost and proposed allocation
Officials estimate that the total financial requirement for these special health initiatives stands at approximately Rs27.847 billion.
Despite the sizeable projected cost, the budget documents indicate that only Rs600,000 has been allocated under the head of Chief Minister's Special Health Initiatives for 2026-27, a figure that falls far short of the estimated funding needs of the programmes.
The absence of dedicated allocations has raised questions about the future financing mechanism for the initiatives and whether funding will be arranged through supplementary grants, special packages or alternative budgetary arrangements during the fiscal year.
The programmes were introduced to expand access to critical healthcare services for low-income patients, particularly those requiring expensive procedures such as dialysis, organ transplants, cardiac surgeries and cancer treatment.
The provincial government has not yet publicly explained the reasons behind the lack of budgetary allocations for the initiatives in the upcoming fiscal year.
The Punjab Assembly is expected to debate the budget proposals in the coming days before the final approval of the province's spending plan for 2026-27.
Reporter: Zahid Chaudhary