Punjab's Free Cancer Medicine Program Stalls, Leaving Thousands of Blood Cancer Patients Waiting
A three-month disruption in free medicine supplies under Punjab's Chronic Myeloid Leukemia treatment program has forced thousands of patients to buy costly drugs privately, as authorities move to authorize local purchases.
Thousands of blood cancer patients across Punjab have been left without free medicines for more than three months after supply under the provincial government's Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) treatment program was disrupted, according to officials and affected patients.
Roughly 5,000 patients are registered under the program, which provides four types of cancer drugs at no cost through five designated hospitals: Mayo Hospital and Jinnah Hospital in Lahore, Nishtar Hospital in Multan, Benazir Bhutto Hospital in Rawalpindi, and Allied Hospital in Faisalabad. Patients typically collect their medication on a monthly basis, but the supply has reportedly been suspended since delays emerged in the government's procurement and bidding process.
The gap has pushed patients toward private pharmacies to buy the drugs out of their own pockets, where availability is also reported to be limited and prices high. Medical experts have cautioned that long interruptions in treatment can carry serious health risks, especially for patients who cannot afford to pay for the medicines themselves. One of the affected drugs, Nilotinib, is a targeted therapy used for certain CML patients and often requires prolonged use under specialist supervision.
Punjab Health Minister Khwaja Salman Rafique acknowledged the shortage and said the government is working to restore supplies. He explained that leading oncologists, during consultations held about a year ago, recommended expanding the list of prescribed cancer medicines under the program from four to 27. As a result, the health department launched a centralized procurement process covering multiple medicines, while some drugs were already available in government stocks.
As an interim measure, provincial health authorities have authorized the five designated hospitals to purchase medicines locally under the Local Purchase arrangement. The step is intended to keep medicines available to patients while the centralized procurement process moves forward.
The disruption highlights the pressure on Punjab's public health procurement system as it shifts toward a broader, centralized model for cancer drugs. For patients dependent on the program, the priority remains uninterrupted access to treatment, and officials say the local purchase mechanism is meant to bridge the gap until regular supplies resume.
