The Ministry of National Health Services has scrapped the Border Health Services (BHS) vaccination system for people going abroad and plans to invite fresh tenders within a month for meningococcal meningitis and influenza vaccines. The move directly affects how the meningococcal meningitis vaccine price in Pakistan is set for religious pilgrims and Pakistanis travelling for employment, after the government halted the existing process.
Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal confirmed that the mandatory vaccination route previously run through BHS is suspended. He said BHS officers who issued a tender without the ministry’s approval have been arrested. Until a central procurement committee issues a new tender and builds a replacement system, the ministry has told pilgrims to arrange required vaccinations through their travel agents.
Why the old arrangement was stopped
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered an inquiry into BHS after allegations of serious procedural flaws and financial irregularities in a public-private partnership contract the department had awarded. Those allegations include a sharp rise in cost: the new contract was said to push vaccination to around Rs4,500 per pilgrim, compared with about Rs1,250 per dose under the earlier arrangement.
That alleged jump is the figure now framing public debate over the meningococcal meningitis vaccine price in Pakistan for outbound travellers. The ministry’s answer is to scrap the contested setup and retender both meningococcal meningitis and influenza vaccines rather than leave travellers dependent on the suspended BHS channel.
Court challenge and what comes next
Separately, seven companies have approached the Islamabad High Court over alleged irregularities in the bidding process. The ministry says fresh tenders should go out within a month, after which a new central procurement route is meant to replace the suspended system.
Until then, the practical path for pilgrims is to use travel agents for mandatory shots. Job seekers and other overseas travellers covered by the same rules face the same interim arrangement while the inquiry and retendering continue.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Sarkar ne bahar jane walon ke liye purana BHS vaccination system band kar diya hai. Ab meningitis aur flu vaccine ke liye naya tender ek mahine ke andar aana hai. Hajj/Umrah aur job ke liye jane walon ko ab yeh shots travel agent ke zariye karwane hain. Pehle ke muqable mein alleged qeemat bohot zyada batayi gayi thi, is liye naya process banaya ja raha hai.
