ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif launched a health insurance scheme for journalists and artists on Tuesday, describing it as a “revolutionary initiative" for the country's media workers and artists.
In June, Pakistan’s Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb announced that the Pakistani government, in a first, had allocated Rs1 billion ($3.5 million) in the budget for working journalists’ health insurance.
Pakistan is considered one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists. International non-profit organization Reporters Without Borders describes it as one of the deadliest countries in the world for journalists. According to a study conducted by the National Institute of Psychology in January 2022, Pakistani journalists, camerapersons and photographers are often found to be suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), especially those who report on natural disasters.
Under the health insurance scheme, media workers and artists will be entitled to “world-class health facilities” free of charge across 1,200 hospitals in Pakistan with an annual corporate health insurance worth Rs1.5 million ($5,295), Sharif said at the launch ceremony of the health insurance scheme.
“This health insurance scheme is a revolutionary initiative in the field of journalism,” Sharif said. He also announced setting up a special fund through which families of media professionals who lose their lives in the line of duty would each be paid Rs4 million ($14,120).
Sharif said as Pakistan gradually moves toward economic stability, the government would also increase its allocation for health insurance.
He also launched the ‘Pakistan Code’ and the ‘Digital Repository of Federal Laws’ mobile app and website to allow the public easy access to the country’s laws.
The move came a day before Sharif’s government is expected to finish its term after dissolving the assemblies as Pakistan gears up for the upcoming general elections.
