Ventilator Crisis in Pakistan: 12 ICU Beds Full, One Patient Dies

A preventable death at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) has cast a stark light on a persistent and deadly deficit of ventilators across the country's state-run hospitals. Abid Raza Kazmi, a local media professional, died after suffering a stroke when physicians urgently needed to place him on mechanical ventilation, but all 12 ICU ventilators at PIMS were in use. His relative Asim Raza Kazmi recounted the frantic search for a vacant machine: 'On the last day, doctors suggested shifting Abid Sahab on ventilator but it was not available/vacant. We used all possible recourses due to which a doctor took us to the ICU. There were 12 ventilators but not a single was vacant.' The family's attempt to transfer him to a private facility came too late. This tragedy is not isolated; Dawn, the Pakistani newspaper that originally reported the incident, notes that such fatal outcomes are widely recorded due to a chronic lack of high-end ICU equipment. The ventilator shortage has plagued Pakistan's public health system for over two decades. Despite repeated warnings, successive governments have failed to bridge the gap between demand for critical care and the supply of functioning life-support machines. The gap is not merely a procurement issue but reflects deeper structural problems: under-investment in healthcare infrastructure, heavy reliance on imports, and a stalled indigenous manufacturing agenda. Former Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry highlighted that during the COVID-19 pandemic, his ministry managed to produce simple ventilators that could meet the needs of up to 60% of patients, but after he left office, 'no one took interest in that issue.' He advocated for joint ventures with Chinese firms to establish local manufacturing, underscoring that Pakistan's engineering standards remain inadequate to independently develop advanced medical machinery. Cost is another barrier. Standard ventilators are priced between PKR 3 million and PKR 5 million per unit (roughly USD 10,000–17,000 at prevailing rates), a sum that strains already limited health budgets. PIMS Executive Director Prof Rana Imran Sikander outlined that beyond capital outlay, recurrent costs for maintenance, consumables, and trained staff drain resources, making it difficult for public hospitals to expand ventilator capacity sustainably. The incident at PIMS exposes a dangerous mismatch: a 620-bed hospital with a dedicated ICU has zero surge capacity for even one more critical patient. This leaves physicians with impossible triage decisions. The broader implication for Pakistan is a healthcare system that cannot guarantee basic emergency respiratory support to its citizens, eroding public trust and pushing those who can afford it toward an unregulated private sector, while the poor bear the brunt of fatal deficits. Without urgent policy intervention, increased healthcare financing, and revival of indigenous production, ventilator unavailability will continue to contribute to preventable deaths. Forward-looking solutions include international partnerships for technology transfer, dedicated recurrent budgets for critical care equipment maintenance, and integration of ventilator stock monitoring into a national health information system to enable real-time resource allocation. The tragedy of Abid Raza Kazmi should serve as a catalyst for systemic reform, turning a long-ignored statistic into an actionable agenda for Pakistan's health authorities.