Development financing for primary health care in Pakistan has long been fragmented, with services such as maternal and child health, immunization and tuberculosis detection and treatment supported by different partners operating on different timelines and with different priorities. For families, this has meant inconvenience and inconsistencies in quality of care. For governments, it has meant managing multiple partner relationships. Deeper collaboration and more efficient use of collective resources is an opportunity to better serve more people.

With malnutrition and other suspected illnesses now fully integrated into primary care reporting, we are tapping into vital data much earlier. This enhanced tracking capability ensures swift, localized responses that are actively reducing death rates and protecting our most vulnerable communities. —Additional District Health Officer, Sindh Province

Led by the Federal and Provincial Governments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Sindh, the National Health Support Program aims to strengthen primary health care. Five development partners — the World Bank, the Global Financing Facility, Gavi, the Global Fund, and the Gates Foundation — are co-financing the five-year Program, which was launched in October 2022. The Program was built on the hypothesis that pooling funding and expertise would provide Pakistan more support in tackling systemic constraints in service delivery, governance, and public financial management than efforts by any one partner alone. More than three years later, here are the key takeaways . . .

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