According to a Recorder Report from Peshawar, appearing on November 24, NWFP Minister for Health Inayatullah has ordered preparation of a plan for the establishment of a separate paramedical institute for women in the province to overcome the shortage of female medical technicians in health institutions.
He issued this directive while chairing a high level meeting in connection with the distribution of grant-in-aid among private welfare institutions and recruitment of female medical technicians in Health Secretariat, Peshawar. Understandable, of course, should be the government's concern about such a vital issue as acute shortage of female paramedics in the healthcare system, has worsened the plight of women despite renewed focus on the need for redeeming it.
The meeting deliberated at length on devising a strategy for distribution of Rs 100 million allocation as grant-in-aid among charity health institutions of the province in the current year. The initiative, certainly, will be seen as marking the beginning of a new effort for addressing the otherwise depressing predicament of the too inadequate healthcare provision for women.
Viewed in this perspective of overall backwardness of women in the province, encompassing education, vocational training and employment opportunities, the task would call for a much greater effort. For mere allocation of Rs 100 million for distribution among charity health institutions would still leave a great deal to be desired.
Some idea of the enormity of the task may be had from a look at the situation of female deprivation, from the deliberations of the 15th International Healthcare Conference, with the theme "Working together for health". The conference was organised in collaboration with the World Health Organisation to mark the World Health Day, in April, this year.
It brought to the fore the grim fact that while health sector all over the world was faced with a grave crisis, and even developed countries were facing acute shortage of healthcare personnel, including paramedics, medical educators and trainers, Pakistan's health indicators were poorer.
This was attributed, among other things, to people in large numbers, in the rural areas, remaining deprived of access to potable water and proper sanitation system based on hygienic standards, besides basic health facilities, that added to the mortality rate, particularly, among women and children.
Notable, in this regard, was the reference made to a similarly grim situation obtaining in India, Bangladesh and other South Asian countries. However, needless to point out, this revelation made for poor consolation for the people of Pakistan, in view of oft-repeated concern voiced by the government, both at federal and provincial levels, along with hyperbolic plans often launched to address the deficiencies.
As for the need for effective measures, stress was laid on creation of an enabling workforce, comprising paramedics, lab technicians, nurses and midwives, to ensure concrete improvement in the country's health sector. There was enough substance in the argument that increasing focus on production of more and more doctors could hardly help redeem the sad plight of the millions dangerously exposed to multi-prolonged health threats from a lack of basic health facilities.
Lamentable was also stated to be the insufficiency of budget allocation for health sector, in comparison with Sri Lanka, a country that spends seven percent on healthcare, as against 0.7 percent in Pakistan, thereby underlining the urgency of raising it, at least, to six percent.
This, of course, could be possible with matching reduction, preferably, in non-development expenses. It goes without saying that the proposed approach has its own appeal. It will be worthwhile to recall that speaking on the occasion, Dr Khalif Bailey Muhammad, WHO representative in Pakistan, also noted that the organisation had dedicated the next 10 years to improvement of health sector the world over.
As he elaborated, it aimed at minimising high mortality rate among women and children, besides providing a clean and safe environment, well-trained medical professionals, including doctors and paramedics, in each district of Pakistan. All this put together, should serve as an indication that induction of women in large numbers in healthcare sector has become the crying need of the hour.