Health problems in Pakistan are looked after mainly in the private sector which accounts for approximately 80 percent of all outpatient visits. The public sector was until recently led by the Ministry of Health, which is the department for provision of medical services, responsible to frame the health policies at a national level. Each of the four provinces of Pakistan has its respective health department under the supervision of health minister of that province controlled by directors and deputy directors. We have a number of diseases in Pakistan which causes death including malaria, diarrhea, dengue fever, tuberculosis, cancer , HIV, AIDS, hepatitis and last but not least polio. These diseases are controllable but sometimes they cause deaths because poor patients cannot afford expensive medication.
Many Pakistani doctors choose to migrate to other countries contributing brain drain and chronic skills shortage in the country. Thousands of doctors across Punjab working at public hospitals resigned from their positions and many others went on strike after the provincial government failed to meet their demands for better compensation. Hospitals throughout the province reported severe difficulties and even deaths as a result of being desperately short staffed.
In Pakistan major chunk of population is living below the poverty line in such scenario where food to petrol, indeed everywhere inflation has engulfed the poor. The recent price hike in medicines has added another worry to the list. Recently, the national and international pharmaceutical companies knocked at the door of health ministry to raise the prices, where health ministry responded immediately, without considering the impact of higher prices of medicines on common masses. The increase will give the people more to criticize against the ruling government in the backdrop of already ongoing corruption scandals.
Pakistan's health care system is inadequate, inefficient and exorbitant. The very notion of public sector services along with a mixed unregulated private sector is just a sham. These poor conditions in the health sector may be attributed to a number of factors like poverty, malnutrition and unequal access to health facilities. The poor in Pakistan are not only deprived of financial resources but also lack access to secondary health care services. We have number of hospitals but the Government and ministry of health needs to be arranging, conducting health awareness programs and increase the number of doctors so that middle class and the poor patient can visit a doctor easily. These sectors needs to be regulated and monitored by government.
NIMRA IRFAN,
Karachi, April 2.