Islamabad:Pakistan is facing a severe shortage of nurses, with an estimated deficit of nearly 900,000 professionals, national health services Syed Mustafa Kamal said on Tuesday.
He also announced the restructuring of the Pakistan Nursing Council along modern lines. The minister was speaking during the second meeting of the Nursing Council at the ministry. He emphasised the critical importance of the nursing profession in strengthening the country’s healthcare system and noted that the quality of patient care largely depended on the professional competence and dedication of nursing staff.
Highlighting the scale of the challenge, the minister said that while Pakistan faced a massive shortfall of nurses, the global demand for nursing professionals currently stands at around 2.5 million.
He said making the Pakistan Nursing Council more effective was essential to meeting the country’s nursing workforce requirements. The minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to restructuring the Pakistan Nursing Council along modern lines in line with international standards, adding that practical steps were needed to restore the institution’s credibility and ensure transparency and merit in its operations.
“You are all professionals and must work collectively to restore the reputation of the institution,” he told council members, urging them to take strong measures to address issues that have affected the image of the nursing profession.
He noted that Pakistan possessed significant potential in the nursing sector and called for the promotion of quality nursing colleges capable of producing skilled professionals who could serve both within the country and abroad.
Strengthening the nursing sector, he said, would not only help meet domestic healthcare needs but also enable Pakistan to benefit from the growing international demand for trained nurses, generating valuable foreign exchange for the country. During the meeting, Special Secretary Health Aslam Ghauri was elected president of the Pakistan Nursing Council and Dr Syed Ali Farhan Razi vice president.
