Vice Chancellor Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) Professor Masood Hameed Khan said on February 26 that 50 to 60 percent people are suffering from one or another illness in Pakistan.
Addressing the concluding session of the 3rd Annual Symposium of DUHS here he said poverty and illiteracy were directly linked to spread of diseases in the country.
He said the healthcare problems are on the rise and causing heavy burden to the health system as well as economy of the country. Chest specialist and Director Ojha Institute of Chest Disease Karachi, Dr Ashraf Sadiq elaborated the relation between HIV/AIDS and tuberculous. He told that in both diseases, patients losses his immunity and become more vulnerable to other diseases.
Dr Ashraf was of the view that 3.5 million people die of AIDS all over the world, while it is seen to be associated with tuberculous. He suggested that programs for HIV/AIDS and tuberculous in Pakistan should be inter-linked, which would greatly help to combat these health problems.
Former Chief Justice of Supreme Court Saeeduz Zaman Siddiqui said that the AIDS has turned as a killer disease all over the world and around 38.6 million people are suffering from this ailment. Talking on Diabetes, Professor Paul Thornelly of UK was of the view that that advanced technology and treatment methods should be applied for treating diabetes patients and improving their quality of life.
Professor Samad Shera and Professor M Zaman Shaikh discussed the root-cause of diabetes among children under 10 years of age. They stated that it was increasing due to obesity, excessive use of cold drinks, fast food and oily foods and lack of physical activities.
Dr Altaf Anwar stressed the need to employ latest instruments available for diagnosis and treatment of gastro-enteritis, as these instruments are not available in Pakistan.He was of the view that these instruments should be made available at the earliest in Pakistan as million of people are suffering from gastro-enteritis disorders in Pakistan.