Govt focuses on improving healthcare facilities in the country: Mustafa Kamal

KARACHI, Jun 21 (APP): Federal Minister for Health, Syed Mustafa Kamal on Saturday said that the government was prioritizing the improvement of healthcare facilities across the country, emphasizing the need to focus more on disease prevention than on merely establishing hospitals. He expressed these views while addressing industrialists at the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI).
The minister highlighted that nearly 70percent of the population still lacks access to Basic Health Units (BHUs). He warned that the increasing number of patients were straining the operational capacity of existing hospitals.
“While polio has been eradicated in most parts of the world, it still persists in Pakistan,” Kamal remarked. “It is unfortunate that Pakistan ranks among the top countries for diseases like polio and hepatitis.”
The minister urged the business community, particularly those associated with the pharmaceutical industry, to support efforts in disease prevention to reduce the dependency on medicines. “We are consuming more medicines than the value of loans we receive from the IMF,” he said.
Kamal stressed the need to shift the national health policy from curative to preventive care, stressing that focusing on public health awareness and prevention could reduce the burden on healthcare infrastructure.
Emphasizing the role of technology, the health minister announced that reforms in the health sector would be introduced through a public-philanthropic partnership model. “The telemedicine service introduced during COVID-19 will now be expanded to ensure medicines and doctor consultations are delivered at the doorstep,” he stated.
Additionally, Kamal revealed that a collaboration with NADRA is underway to convert national identity card numbers into Medical Record Numbers (MRN), with legislation for this initiative expected soon.
Highlighting the shortage of nursing staff in Pakistan, the minister said, “We have only 170,000 nurses, but we need at least 900,000. While Globally, there is demand for 2.5 million Pakistani nurses, potentially turning this sector into a multi-billion-dollar foreign exchange earner for Pakistan.”
The event was attended by KATI President Junaid Naqi, Deputy Patron-in-Chief Zubair Chhaya, Senior Vice President Ejaz Ahmed Sheikh, Vice President Syed Tariq Hussain, Standing Committee Chairman Saleem-uz-Zaman, MPA Najm Mirza, former Chairman’s and Presidents Masood Naqi, Gulzar Feroz, Sheikh Umer Rehan and other notable members of the business community.
Earlier, the federal minister visited the KATI office and met with its office bearers to discuss mutual cooperation in improving healthcare initiatives.