The President Saarc Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), Tariq Sayeed has asked the member countries to allocate at least 3 percent of GDP for health sector to bring about improvement in health conditions of the region.
Addressing the annual general meeting of Patient's Welfare Association, he said that healthy life and access to medical care was basic right and an issue of social justice, a spokesman of the association said.
Sayeed said that the South Asian region, with population of 1.42 billion, had unfortunately 34 percent of the total population living below the poverty line, depicting that every third person of the region was living in absolute poverty. He was of the opinion that high poverty levels led to high infant mortality rates while growing population increases poverty. "Population growth rate in South Asia still remains higher than the world average, and an increasing population breeds other social ills," he said.

SCCI President said that due to economic disparity and certain challenges faced by Saarc member states, 65 percent of the population had not access to clean drinking water adding that only 25 percent of the population was reported to have access to sanitation facilities. Though region has enormous economic potential, which has not been harnessed to improve the social life of its inhabitants, he added.
Due to low level of Human Development Index and poor nutrition and health level, the region faces certain health issues, Sayeed said adding that infant mortality rate is 63 per 1,000 lives, under 5 year mortality rate is 84 per 1,000 lives while skilled attendance rate at delivery is only 35.
He said that despite diversity in their geographical, linguistic and political structures, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka face common health challenges.