Supply of clean drinking water, eradication of diseases like polio and hepatitis and ensuring effective medical facilities to mother and child are the top priorities of the government and more resources will be allocated for health sector in the budget 2007-08.
This was stated by Federal Minister for Health Muhammad Naseer Khan while inaugurating the Paediatric Surgical Conference of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (Saarc), here at King Edward Medical University on Saturday.
Paediatric surgeons hailing from Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Sri-Lanka and other members of Saarc, and delegates from Saudi Arabia, UK, USA and other countries are participating in the three-day moot during which delegates will present research papers and also attend workshops to be held at different hospitals in the Punjab capital.
Naseer Khan maintained that President Pervez Musharraf had introduced several vital reforms in the health sector in line with modern day requirements. The President has also asked the authorities concerned to allocate maximum resources to health sector so that the goal of healthy society could be achieved, he said.
Emphasising the need of extending co-operation and research among the Saarc countries, he said Western nations want to come to the Saarc region to upgrade their knowledge regarding the obsolete disease.
The government will extend all out co-operation and patronise research in the health sector, he said, adding, the government will welcome assistance in medical research from any quarter. He also acknowledged the immediate and much-needed medical help provided to the earthquake victims of Pakistan in October 2005, by members of Saarc countries.
Talking about the fallout of wars and political turmoil in Iraq and Afghanistan on the health sector, the minister said that health infrastructure and services amounting to 36 billion dollars had collapsed in those areas. He was of the view that the world of medical science and healthcare was not subject to geographical boundaries or prejudices, hence rehabilitation of the healthcare service structure in the war-torn countries should be done on humanitarian grounds.
Naseer Khan said the government was looking for any recommendation for the upgrading of paediatrics surgery in this region so that a comprehensive policy regarding prevention of childhood diseases could be worked out. He called for taking concrete steps that can raise the national health standards in the Saarc countries.
"The government wants to increase the public-private partnership to improve the health sector. Our 'health for all' policy is primarily based on preventive aspects and we are trying to strengthen paediatric surgery but also paediatric cardiology as well as neonatology."
Lauding the efforts of the Pakistan Paediatric Surgical Association, he hoped that the conference would help to jointly evolve effective methods and measures to fight against children's diseases, as children are our future assets.
Dr D.K Gupta, noted Indian paediatric surgeon and President of the Association of Paediatric Federations, its General Secretary Dr Talal, VC KEMU Professor Mumtaz Hassan and MS Mayo Hospital, Lahore Dr Fayyaz Ranjha and others also spoke on the occasion.
Professor Mahmood Shaukat, General Secretary, Federation of the Association of Paediatrics Surgeons of Saarc countries in his keynote address emphasised the need for eradicating the paediatric surgical problems.
'Because of the improvement of health structure there has been tremendous fall in the outbreak of the communicable diseases and congenital malformation. Preventive measures during the pregnancy and childhood can tremendously reduce the burden of the childhood surgical problem. Poverty alleviation, safeguarding the environment, quality control of the drinking water can be of much help', he said.
Dr D.K Gupta said that the paediatric surgery is an emerging speciality and needs proper status. 40 percent of the population in Saarc region consists of the children less than 14 years. Out of them 10 percent born with congenital malformation and 5 percent of them need surgical intervention, he added.