January 24, 2023 (MLN): Pakistan's healthcare sector continues to feel the strain of rising inflation, with overall medicine and health services seeing a significant increase in December 2022. As per estimations, the inflation rate for the health sector in December was 13.50%, up from 10.04% in January 2022.
One of the biggest contributors to this increase is the rising cost of drugs and medicine, which saw a staggering 15.40% inflation rate in December. Additionally, the prices of therapeutic equipment and doctors' fees also saw significant increases, at 6.02% and 15.26% respectively.
Dental services and medical tests also saw significant increases, with prices related to dental services up by 13.59% and medical tests seeing an increase of 16.40%. Even hospital fees saw an increase, up 6.50%.
This trend is seen in January 2022 as well, with all heads standing around 12.10%, 4.32%, 8.88%, 4.90%, 5.04%, and 9.14% respectively.
The rising inflation rates in the healthcare sector are causing concern among citizens and experts alike, as it makes it increasingly difficult for many people to access the medical care they need.
Many people have been struggling to afford these rising costs and are finding it hard to access basic healthcare services.
The government has called for an urgent need for measures to be put in place to curb inflation and make healthcare more affordable for the public.
The government is taking measures to control inflation and making sure that citizens are not being burdened by the rising costs of healthcare.
But it is a complex issue, and it will take time to see meaningful results.
