Sana Ullah Ghumman, General Secretary and Director Operations of Pakistan National Heart Association (PANAH) has criticized the move to push back the Health Contribution Bill on tobacco and sugar sweetened beverages.
The burden of disease continues to rise sharply, heart diseases, diabetes, obesity, cancer which are not only fatal, expensive treatable diseases, their treatment is beyond the reach of white-clad citizens, he said.
He further added, according to the International Diabetes Federation’s ongoing report on diabetes, we were expecting a health emergency from the Prime Minister.
Pushing the Health Contribution Bill for another seven months, which has been delayed for 2 consecutive years, is not the right thing to do, which is strongly condemned by health and the public sectors.
Sana Ullah Ghumman on behalf of Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Tareen Reacting to a report by an English daily who was reportedly opposed to a tax increase under the Health Contribution Bill on tobacco and soft drinks, he said that The move to defer the Health Contribution Bill for another seven months raises new questions.
It raises the question of whether increasing the burden of public health and disease has not been among the government’s priorities.
