China-Pakistan cooperation under CPEC has expanded beyond highways and power projects to healthcare and human development, according to a new study in the Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences. The research traces a decade of collaboration from 2016–2025 under the Health Silk Road, highlighting hospitals, labs, vaccine programs, and medical training initiatives.
Notable projects include the Port Authority Hospital in Gwadar, Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, and the China-Pakistan Joint Laboratory for Infectious Disease Control at the NIH in Islamabad. The study notes that healthcare cooperation accelerated during COVID-19, shifting from policy dialogue to on-ground execution, improving maternal and neonatal health outcomes, expanding immunization coverage, and providing humanitarian medical assistance.
While healthcare has become central to CPEC’s second phase, the study warns of challenges like uneven standards, biosecurity risks, funding gaps, and shortages of trained professionals in remote areas. Researchers recommend stronger institutional coordination, digital health initiatives, traditional medicine exchange, and sustained investment to build a high-quality Health Silk Road brand tailored to local needs.
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