Health Ministry Scraps Flawed Vaccine Tender
Pakistan’s health ministry has scrapped a flawed vaccine tender and abolished the vaccination setup run through Border Health Services (BHS), after a high-level inquiry exposed severe flaws and financial irregularities in a previously awarded public-private partnership contract. A new tender for meningococcal meningitis and influenza vaccines for overseas travellers will be issued within a month.
Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal confirmed that the current vaccination process for religious pilgrims and overseas job seekers has been halted. He said all BHS officials involved in floating the unauthorised tender have been arrested for bypassing ministry oversight.
“I can assure that they will be fixed for keeping the ministry in the dark,” Mr Kamal said. “I am carrying a good reputation and have remained clean throughout my career. So I will not tolerate any attempt to defame me.”
Vaccine tender: what happens to pilgrims now
With the BHS system dismantled, the ministry has directed pilgrims to arrange their mandatory vaccinations directly through their travel agents until the ministry’s central procurement committee floats a replacement tender.
The change matters for thousands of travellers. Meningococcal vaccination is a mandatory requirement for pilgrims travelling to Saudi Arabia for Hajj and Umrah, and influenza vaccination is also required for overseas travellers in several categories. Any gap in the system can leave pilgrims scrambling for jabs, or facing problems at departure.
The inquiry was ordered by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. It followed allegations that the new contract inflated vaccination costs to about Rs4,500 per pilgrim, up sharply from around Rs1,250 per dose under the previous arrangement. Seven companies have also petitioned the Islamabad High Court, challenging alleged irregularities in the bidding process.
How the parallel system worked
A five-member inquiry committee chaired by the Cabinet Division secretary examined the legal basis, rationale and approvals for the contract. The panel included the Intelligence Bureau director general, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) chief executive officer, the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority managing director and a representative from the Attorney General’s Office.
Official documents collected by the committee and reviewed by Dawn show that BHS officials created parallel committees to bypass federal oversight. On May 9, the health ministry set up an official six-member procurement committee chaired by BHS Director Dr Mir Muhammad Hassan Builo, alongside a grievance committee led by the federal director general of health.
On June 10, however, BHS unilaterally formed its own procurement committee chaired by Dr Pardeep Kumar and a separate redressal committee led by Dr Shahbaz Ahmed Hashmi, and proceeded to float the tender independently.
A senior ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, claimed the health ministry was kept in the dark. “The major violation was that the PPRA rules were followed for a public-private partnership. In fact, Public Private Partnership Authority rules should have been applied for the tender,” the official explained.
Under the agreement, the official said, the private company had to procure the vaccine, and the amount had to be deposited in a National Database and Registration Authority account. Nadra would then cut its charges and distribute the share between BHS and the private company. “The positive thing was that not a single rupee had to be spent from the exchequer,” the official added.
The price history behind the dispute
The price argument sits at the heart of the case. The official noted that the Rs1,250 price in 2026 occurred because a company secured cheaper stock. Previously, per-dose charges for meningitis vaccines were Rs2,555 in 2025, Rs2,244 in 2024, Rs2,476 in 2023 and Rs2,550 in 2022. Influenza vaccines cost Rs1,426 in 2025 and Rs1,670 in 2024.
Another official noted that the tender will be re-advertised, but argued that the seven petitioning companies should provide the Rs1,250 rate they cited. He noted that the vaccine’s maximum retail price is around Rs1,300, but it was historically sold for over Rs2,000.
Uncoordinated past procurements, the official added, triggered the use of fake vaccination certificates, causing trouble for pilgrims and embarrassment for the federal government. That history is why the ministry says it cannot simply let the old arrangement continue while a new tender is prepared.
