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KARACHI, Jan 10 (APP):Federal Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Syed Mustafa Kamal on Saturday inaugurated Karachi’s first Digitized Healthcare Center under the Federal Healthcare Digitalization Program (FHDP).
While addressing the inauguration ceremony, he said that under this scheme, six Basic Health Units (BHUs) in Islamabad and four BHUs in Karachi will be digitized to ensure the availability of specialist healthcare services at the primary level.
He said that through these digitally equipped BHUs, patients will be able to consult specialists through telemedicine.
The Minister said that a project was signed yesterday under which 745 cancer patients suffering from breast, liver and lung cancers will be provided with medicines worth Rs 9.8 million.
He said this initiative reflects the government’s commitment to providing timely and affordable treatment to patients suffering from life-threatening diseases.
He said that people in Pakistan often turn to tertiary care hospitals even for minor ailments, which puts an unnecessary burden on major hospitals.
He stressed the need to strengthen primary healthcare facilities and said that the government is equipping BHUs and clinics with digital technology so that quality healthcare services are available at the grassroots level through telemedicine in collaboration with Sehat Kahani.
Kamal said that the concept of healthcare is not just treatment but preventing people from becoming patients. In response to a question, he said that healthcare begins from pregnancy and birth spacing, adding that, unfortunately, around 400 women out of every 10,000 die during childbirth, which is alarmingly high. He emphasized that maternal and child healthcare must be a national priority.
The Federal Health Minister said that as a nation, it is our collective responsibility to spread awareness about healthcare, adopt hygiene in daily life and follow healthy practices that improve overall wellbeing.
Referring to polio, he said that Karachi remains an epicenter of the polio virus and environmental samples are still coming positive. The government is continuing its fight against polio through vaccination campaigns to eradicate the disease from the country.
On the water treatment plant, he said that during his tenure as Mayor, a comprehensive plan was devised to enhance the capacity of the water treatment plants, which was stopped after him.