Civil society raises alarm on anti-health budget

Islamabad:Leading health organizations and experts have termed the federal budget announced for 2025-26, which failed to increase taxes on harmful ultra-processed products (UPPs) and instead imposed a levy on fuel – a vital commodity – as an anti-public health budget.

They urged the government to prioritize public health over corporate interest and enact at least 20 per cent federal excise duty on UPPs during the ongoing budget approval process. With one Pakistani suffering a heart attack every minute and the daily death toll from diabetes and its complications exceeding 1100, this is a national health emergency demanding bold, evidence-based policy action from the government.

According to health experts, ultra-processed foods are a significant contributor to Pakistan’s continuously increasing rates of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like cardiovascular diseases, obesity, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers, due to their high levels of added sugars, sodium, saturated fats, and industrially produced trans-fats.

These concerns were highlighted during a media discussion organized by Pakistan National Heart Association (PANAH), in collaboration with Heartfile, Pakistan Kidney Patients Welfare Association, Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI), Pakistan Youth Change Advocates (PYCA), and other civil society organizations here at a local hotel in Islamabad.

Experts expressed concerns over the government’s misplaced fiscal priorities, overlooking the rising NCDs burden caused by unhealthy diet consumption. “Ultra-processed products, including ice creams, biscuits, candies, confectioneries, bakery foods, chocolates and other packaged junk foods, significantly contribute to the growing burden of heart disease, diabetes, kidney failure, and obesity in Pakistan,” said Sanaullah Ghumman, General Secretary of PANAH. “Instead of taxing essential items like fuel, the government must take bold fiscal measures to tax products harming public health.”

Ghulam Abbas from the Pakistan Kidney Patients Welfare Association emphasized, “Public health must be reflected in fiscal decisions. The failure to tax UPPs is a missed opportunity to protect millions of lives. We urge the government to reconsider and include a health-protective tax on ultra-processed products in the final budget stages.”

It is worth mentioning that the total allocations for health in the current budget are 16 percent less than the previous year. The civil society organizations raised alarm and requested the government to increase allocations to the health sector with revenue collected from ultra-processed food and beverage products.

The session concluded with a collective call to parliamentarians and cabinet members to align fiscal policies with Pakistan’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3.4, which aims to reduce premature deaths from NCDs through prevention and treatment. The participating organizations reaffirmed their commitment to advocating for evidence-based, public health-friendly policy reforms.