Improving the health care infrastructure in Punjab, Pakistan, is a challenge. For instance, access to health care may demand long waits in queues that can take away a day’s work and earnings, making it unfeasible. Structural problems are common. There is not enough investment, many constraints on resources and access to essential medicines and equipment is limited.

Urban slums pose a particular challenge to improving health care infrastructure in Punjab. The Punjab Urban Slum Survey, conducted by the Punjab Bureau of Statistics, notes that roughly 7.2 million people reside in urban slums across the district. These urban slum dwellers make up a significant portion of the 128 million people in Punjab.

According to the Punjab Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS) 2019-2020, this portion of the population may be characterized as having more limited access to preventive and curative health services. The PDHS also showed that only 57.2% of slum dwellers can access health facilities.

Improving Health Care Infrastructure in Punjab

The Clinics on Wheels program is improving the health care infrastructure in Punjab with free, quality health care provision. Launched in 2024 by the Punjab provincial government, the initiative sees mobile clinic vans serving underserved residents who have no access to basic health care in densely populated urban settlements.

The main aim of Clinics on Wheels is to reach those living in densely populated urban areas and remote regions where there are significant barriers to accessing health facilities. The mobile clinics aim to eliminate the barriers of distance, cost and availability, ensuring that timely medical services and a suitable health infrastructure are put into place in Punjab.

There are about 244 Clinics on Wheels operating across the district. Most of the vehicles, 202 of them, are mobilized for transporting medicines and staff to those in need. In addition, about 42 carry mobile ultrasound facilities. Initiatives offered include doctors, diagnostics and medicines delivered at the community level, as well as free medicines delivered to the doorsteps of underserved residents.

Tangible Results in Improving Health Care in Punjab

Dr. Ehsan Ghani, Chief Executive Officer of the District Health Authority Rawalpindi, said that the mobile clinics have resulted in timely diagnoses and provide an effective referral system that ensures complex cases reach major hospitals promptly. He added that each van is staffed with a vaccinator who administers missed or incomplete vaccines to children in the field, helping to bridge the gap between the growing population and immunization needs. According to Ghani, this has improved vaccination rates and supported progress in the fight against diseases such as polio.

Ghani has said that with expansion, Clinics on Wheels has the potential to bring health care services to even more people across Punjab. In January 2026, it was announced that the Punjab government would involve the private sector in the project to improve its performance.

Looking Ahead

The goal of equitable health care infrastructure is that no citizen has to go without medical provision and Clinics on Wheels offers a practical solution to make the transport of doctors and medicines accessible. The campaign has been promoted as care that reaches every doorstep, providing services regardless of income or location.

Improving health care infrastructure in Punjab through initiatives such as Clinics on Wheels may help reduce the health care burden and improve overall health outcomes for Punjab’s population. Clinics on Wheels sits alongside other health care initiatives, including the CM Insulin Program, which offers free insulin for children with Type 1 diabetes, and the Chief Minister’s Children Heart Surgery Program, which offers cardiac surgeries for children. Together, these programs reflect ongoing efforts to expand health care access across Punjab.

– Suneel Mehmi

Suneel is based in London, UK and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project.

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