Acting President Gilani calls for providing equitable public healthcare services

ISLAMABAD, Nov 05  Acting President Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday emphasized the importance of collective efforts to ensure everyone has access to healthcare facilities, stressing that providing equitable, low-cost, and quality healthcare was among the government’s priorities. The acting president, addressing the two-day 14th International Public Health Conference-2024, organised by the Health Services Academy, said the basic medical facilities must reach those in need and added that a healthy environment was also must for the citizens along with basic medical facilities. He lauded the Health Services Academy’s role in improving public healthcare and imparting skill training the new generation in the medical field that would extend its benefits to the national level by improving the facilities and skill training. Highlighting a special focus on healthcare facilities in rural areas during his premiership, the acting president said the government was striving to uplift the health sector by promoting innovation, investment and research. He said the conference would prove to be an effective platform to address the challenges associated with the health sector. He appreciated the role of his former Principal Secretary Nargis Sethi in the establishment of the Academy and said that service delivery in the health sector could be improved by providing professional skills and resources to health professionals. “Healthcare is not just about treatment, it’s about creating conditions that help improve people’s health,” he said. He stressed the importance of necessary legislation, policy measures and steps to provide an enabling environment for health institutions and promote innovation, investment, and research. Acting President Gilani said that by understanding social and lifestyle factors, better policies and programs could be designed to address health issues. He said medical treatment facilities could be improved by combining research, innovation and practices, and assured that the issues raised by the institution would be resolved through the Standing Committee on Health. Vice-Chancellor of Health Services Academy Professor Dr Shahzad Ali Khan said that the institution had provided an effective platform to the people associated with the health sector and that the conference was a constant feature to build the capacity of doctors and the supporting staff. He said that the institution was pursuing the mission of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto Shaheed who had given the concept of health workforce in the country. Zamurrud Khan, patron of Pakistan Sweet Home, said that the government was working on merging the Allied Health Professional Council and the Nursing Council. He called for reviewing the decision as both the entities had different working and the merger would create difficulties. Registrar of Health Services Academy Professor Dr Muhammad Abdullah Khan, Deputy Controller Examinations Dr Khalid Iqbal Malik and a huge number of health professionals attended the event.