NATA Health Program (NHP)

NHP works to bring affordable, dignified healthcare to families who are often forgotten.

Pakistan is one of the most populous countries in the world, and its health system is under heavy pressure. The government spends only about 3% of national income on health, so families often pay for care themselves. Reports show that more than half of all health spending comes straight out of people's own pockets.

Care is also very uneven. Big cities such as Karachi and Lahore have far more doctors, hospitals and health records than remote parts of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan. Villages often lack nurses, paramedics and trained birth attendants. About 100,000 Lady Health Workers carry basic care to people's doorsteps, but the need is much larger.

The disease burden is heavy and mixed. Infections such as tuberculosis, malaria, dengue and hepatitis remain common, polio has still not been fully removed, and illnesses such as diabetes are rising fast. Pakistan is estimated to have one of the largest diabetes populations in the world, and many cases go undiagnosed.

Mothers and children are especially at risk. Maternal deaths have fallen over the decades but are still high, and higher still in Balochistan, Sindh and rural areas. Around four in ten young children are stunted because of poor nutrition, and floods and heatwaves add new dangers. This is the gap NHP wants to help close.

Summarised in our own words from public sources: Wikipedia: Health in Pakistan. Figures change over time.