Islamabad: Urging people to control the population, vaccinate their children and use clean drinking water, Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal on Tuesday warned that Pakistan’s health system is collapsing and can no longer cope with the surge of patients crowding hospitals across the country.
Speaking at the 15th International Public Health Conference at the Health Services Academy, he said the country is producing more sick people than the system can ever treat, and the crisis will worsen unless people take responsibility for their own health.
“No country in the world could cope with the pressure Pakistan faces as its population increases by 6.19 million every year, which is equal to the entire population of El Salvador and even bigger than New Zealand”, Mustafa Kamal said added.
The minister said governments are providing 13 essential childhood vaccines free of charge but many parents still refuse to vaccinate their children, calling vaccines haram or claiming they cause infertility. He said the growing population itself is a clear answer to such myths. “How can any health system survive when people don’t protect their children from preventable diseases,” he said.
He said the worst crisis is contaminated water, because Pakistan has no functioning sewage treatment system anywhere in the country. Untreated sewage is being discharged directly into freshwater supplies and almost 70 percent of diseases are caused by unsafe water, he added.
He said even the best health system in the world could not provide care to a population that is drinking poison every day. “This is not a health system. This is a factory producing sick people,” he said.
Mustafa Kamal said he had lost interest in building new hospitals because hospitals alone cannot fix a nation falling sick due to its environment, contaminated water and refusal to vaccinate. He said the real priority now is prevention of disease, health promotion and self care.
“No government and no private hospital can treat such a large unhealthy population. People have to take responsibility for their own health,” he said. He added that humans are the most precious creation of the Almighty and protecting them is a collective duty.
He also touched on the issue of the pharmaceutical physician nexus and said the burden of disease in Pakistan benefits unethical elements in both sectors, although he made it clear he did not believe all doctors or all pharmaceutical companies were involved in wrongdoing. He said the focus must shift to public health measures, not just curative care.
Health Services Academy’s Vice Chancellor Prof Shahzad Ali Khan said it was the first time a federal health minister had openly spoken about prevention instead of the popular slogan of building more hospitals.
He said Pakistan has reached a point where political leadership must talk about health promotion, lifestyle medicine, early screening and community level interventions. He said HSA now has 55 foreign qualified PhDs and strong partnerships with national and international organizations, while several new programs in public health, allied health sciences and sports sciences are being expanded.
Prof Shahzad said HSA is now producing allied health professionals in large numbers, including technicians, nurses and public health specialists, and these professionals are already in high demand in Pakistan and abroad.
He said within a year these graduates will become a major source of foreign exchange for the country. HSA now has five PhDs in sports sciences and is using them to promote physical health, mental health and disease prevention through student programs and outreach initiatives.
Minister of State for Education Wajiha Akram said public health can no longer be seen as an isolated sector. She supported the minister’s stance and said education, health and community awareness must work together for disease prevention and improved wellbeing.
Former Balochistan secretary health, who received a lifetime achievement award, said primary healthcare is the backbone of any system. He said Balochistan once had some of the worst health indicators including polio but today the province has no polio cases and no positive environmental samples.
Commissioner Punjab Social Security Muhammad Ali also briefed the audience about excellent health services provided though PESSI own health network in Punjab. Muhammad Ali received Excellence Award from Minister Mustafa Kamal for most Innovative interventions for labour welfare in Punjab.
The 15th International Public Health Conference, titled “The Next Generation’s Shield: One Health, Vaccination, Adolescent Health and Climate Change,” has brought together experts from UNICEF, WHO, FAO, Nutrition International and leading public health institutions.
Ends