President Asif Ali Zardari has approved the National Institute of Health (Reorganization) Amendment Bill 2025, under which a National Cancer Registry will be established in Pakistan to understand the actual burden of the disease and to develop a comprehensive strategy for its prevention.
According to the report, in order to bring reforms in the health sector, President Asif Ali Zardari approved the National Institute of Health (Reorganization) Amendment Bill 2025 on Sunday, aimed at restructuring the institution and establishing a comprehensive database of cancer.
The President also approved the Anti Dumping Duties Amendment Bill 2025 to provide legal clarity regarding the implementation of anti-dumping duties on projects funded by Chinese grants.
According to the NIH Bill passed in the National Assembly on August 12, 2025, the establishment of a National Cancer Registry is of urgent need to understand the actual burden of the disease and to implement a national action plan and effective strategy for cancer prevention.
According to the Press Wing of the Presidency, through this bill, the structure and governance of the National Institute of Health will be made more effective, and the purpose of the amendment is to reorganize the institution and improve its performance.
The statement said that the approval of the bill is an important step towards reforms in the health sector and institutional improvement.
The NIH Bill stated that the center will ensure the registration of cancer patients in a central repository to understand the actual burden of the disease and to implement the national action plan for its prevention.
The bill also mentioned strategies to control the growing epidemic, collect statistics of cancer cases, and establish a database of patients.
Through this bill, the government aims to promote awareness at the village and union council level and to work in collaboration with other governmental and non-governmental organizations whose target is the elimination of cancer.
The center will register cancer cases in different categories, including confirmed cancer cases, cancer deaths, cancer recoveries, pending hospital cases, and demographic information (age, gender, location).
According to the bill, the personal information of cancer patients will not be provided to any unauthorized person without the patient’s prior written consent.
The NIH Bill further stated that cancer cases are increasing worldwide at an alarming rate.
According to the Global Cancer Observatory, the total number of cases in Pakistan in 2020 was 178,388, and these statistics were provided by the Punjab Cancer Registry, representing Lahore and some parts of central Punjab.
The bill stated that keeping in view the total population of 220 million, these statistics severely underrepresent the actual burden of cancer in Pakistan, and in the past, several attempts to establish a national cancer registry failed due to lack of resources.
Anti Dumping Duties Bill:
President Asif Ali Zardari also approved the Anti Dumping Duties Amendment Bill 2025.
According to the Media Wing of the Presidency, after approval, these duties will be effective from July 1, 2020. The bill was sent to the President after being passed by the National Assembly and the Senate.
The statement said that the bill was approved to provide legal clarity regarding the implementation of anti-dumping duties on projects funded by China.
This decision was made during a review meeting of the progress of Gwadar projects in October 2022.
