Pakistan’s poverty challenge is neither new nor invisible,what has changed is its character.

Poverty in Pakistan is no longer simply episodic or income-based, it has become cyclical, generational and increasingly structural. Despite economic activity, social protection programmes and periods of growth, millions remain trapped in deprivation, unable to convert national progress into personal wellbeing. The uncomfortable reality is that growth without human development does not break poverty. Health, and how society understands and practices it, lies at the heart of this failure.

Poverty is often measured in rupees, but it is lived through vulnerability. In Pakistan, illness remains one of the most reliable pathways into poverty. According to the World Bank, nearly 40 percent of Pakistan’s population lives below the national poverty line, with many more just one shock away from falling under it. Out-of-pocket health expenditure accounts for over 60 percent of total health spending, meaning a single medical emergency can erase years of fragile stability. People do not merely remain poor because they are unhealthy, they become poor because health systems fail to protect them.

This dynamic creates a closed loop. In Pakistan, nearly four in ten children under five are stunted, a chronic malnutrition that impairs cognitive development and future earning potential. Maternal mortality remains high—around 150–186 deaths per 100,000 live births—reflecting gaps in care, awareness, access, and social support. Preventable diseases such as tuberculosis, hepatitis, and diarrheal........

© Pakistan Observer