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Pakistan’s most Extensive Cardiometabolic Study for the Healthy Young Population

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Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Getz Pharma Pvt. Ltd.,in partnership with Tabba Heart Institute, announced the launch of Pakistan Study of Premature Coronary Atherosclerosis in Young Adults (PAK- SEHAT) Cardiovascular diseases continue to have a significant impact across the world among different populations. To address the issue of the rising health burden of ASCVD in Pakistan, Getz Pharma Pvt. Ltd and Tabba Heart Institute (THI) formally launched PAK-SEHAT- Pakistan Study of Premature Coronary Atherosclerosis in Young Adults, a nationwide study conducted through Pakistan’s first state of art mobile lab. PAK SEHAT project is the largest, first-of-its-kind, longitudinal cohort study on Atherosclerotic Risk Assessment in Pakistani Population.

This 10-year joint venture of Getz Pharma &THI (PAK SEHAT) will help determine risk factors for coronary heart disease so that early detection can be done and disease can be prevented rather than treated. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, causing approximately 32% of annual deaths. The risk of cholesterol-associated CVD varies among different ethnicities; however, the risk is four fold in the South Asian (SA) Population compared to other races. Furthermore, almost 75% of all CVD deaths are in low and middle-income countries (LMIC), where there are finite health resources and a multitude of health-seeking barriers. The state of heart diseases in Pakistan also reflects a concerning picture.

According to the World Health Organization data published in 2018, coronary heart disease deaths in Pakistan reached 20% of total deaths, and Pakistan ranks 18 in cardiac mortality in the global ranking. Moreover, the numbers of potential CVD risk factors, including hypertension and diabetes, are also alarming in Pakistan, with 50% hypertension and 17.1% diabetes in the adult population. There is a drastic shift in CVD occurrence in young ages in the SA population, as evidenced by the groundbreaking INTERHEART study suggesting 10.6% of SA participants presented with a heart attack at <40 years of age. Therefore, this study primarily envisions screening the Pakistani individuals at a younger age to prevent increasing CVD burden in the future. This study aims to recruit healthy volunteers <40 years of age, from selected urban and rural areas of Pakistan, who are asymptomatic and have no cardiovascular disease.

This would allow for assessing the participants’ risk factor profiles and follow them up for at least five years to document the incidence of ASCVD. The objectives of PAK SEHAT includes: 1. To characterize the prevalence and severity of subclinical coronary atherosclerosis among young Pakistani men and women free of clinical CVD 2. To understand the impact, in terms of 5-year rates of cardiovascular events, by using the prognostic information provided by cardiac CTA and the other study tests and measurements to optimize cardiovascular prevention management in young Pakistanis. While Pakistan is the second-most populous country in South Asia, most of the data on the prevalence of ASCVD from South Asian regions is derived from India. As a result, the Pakistani Population is highly underrepresented in global research, as there is currently no comprehensive database on the native Pakistani Population to assess the likelihood of developing ASCVD.

Due to this high burden of disease, there is an urgent need for primary prevention and early screening for ASCVD in Pakistan. The findings from a study of this scale can provide groundbreaking results. It would help in informing future health policy targeting the native Pakistani Population, and it would allow early interventions for patients with risk of ASCVD from a younger age. Getz Pharma and Tabba Heart Institute are proud to lead an initiative of this scale with the aim to contribute to the growing research database in Pakistan and promote early screening and prevention for cardiovascular diseases in the country.

Govt mulling options to include PWDs in next national census

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Islamabad (Muhammad Yasir) The federal government is seriously mulling to collect accurate number of people with disabilities (PWDs) in the next population census scheduled to be held next year in the country in order to have a data support for framing a national policy to ensure their rights as well as welfare.

“Discussions with relevant quarters as well as stakeholders are underway for possible considerations related to inclusion of PDWs in the next national census,” disclosed Dr. G.M. Arif, Member National Census Committee, government of Pakistan, while addressing a national conference titled ‘Inclusive Census 2022 in Pakistan’ here in Islamabad on Monday.

The event was organized by Community Based Inclusive Development Network Pakistan in collaboration with INGO Sightsavers and HANDS, a national NGO.

Key objectives of the conference were to advocate the government for ensuring effective counting of PWDs in the national population census 2022, and also to push for Pakistan’s effective participation in the second Global Disability Summit being held in Oslo, Norway, from February 15-17, 2022 (GDS22). The summit will mobilize efforts for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the principle of ‘Leaving No One Behind’ and on building back better and more inclusive with regards to Covid-19.

Dr. G.M. Arif also said that during the national census 2022, the focus should be on reaching out to the households with PWDs mainly both genders to collect their accurate population in the country.

Besides Dr. G.M. Arif, Rabia Awan, Director PSLM & Sample Design, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Munazza Gillani, Country Director, Sightsavers Pakistan, Dr. Tanveer Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer HANDS, Asim Zafar, Secretary CBIDN, Dr. Sarwat Mirza, National Coordinator CBIDN, Itfaq Khaliq, Programme Manager, Sightsavers Pakistan, also spoke during the conference.

The speakers termed the PWDs as equal citizens of society and stressed the need for holding national census to collect accurate population of PWDs so that a sufficient chunk of government budget is ensured not only to secure their basic rights but also help them spend a respectable life by getting sustainable employment opportunities.

Rabia Awan, Director, PSLM & Sample Design, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, appreciated the efforts of Sightsavers and CBIDN Network in recognizing inclusion of people with disabilities in the national Census 2022.

Rabia Awan, Director, PSLM & Sample Design, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, appreciated the efforts of Sightsavers and CBIDN Network in recognizing inclusion of people with disabilities in the national census 2022.

She, however, said that the laws can be developed but it is important to ensure their effective implementation to provide basic rights to the people in general and people with disabilities.

She has endorsed the discussion and ensured that Pakistan Bureau of Statistics will make sure the inclusion of disability in the census. The digital tools will be used for effective counting of all the households. Overall the experts were of the view that accurate data of the people with disabilities is critical for the budgetary allocations and mapping out strategies for the development in disability sector. This would help in understanding the magnitude of a problem and making informed decisions accordingly.

Asim Zafar, Secretary CBIDN Network, was of the view that the actual data PWDs still remains a big challenge as it provides data support in planning and allocation of resources.

“We should focus on inclusion of PWDs in 2022 Census and for this purpose there should be a mechanism to empower the communities to include PWDs during data collection,” he said.

Dr. Sarwat Mirza said that disability itself is not an issue in society, as collective efforts from all stakeholders can be realigned to ensure rights of the PWDs.

“The data of PWDs can be collected through national census, population surveys and administrative data registration,” she said.

Mobilink Microfinance Bank and Daraz partner in an industry-first linkage to Empower Women Entrepreneurs

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Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Pakistan’s largest digital bank, Mobilink Microfinance Bank Limited (MMBL) has partnered with Daraz, Pakistan’s leading online marketplace to facilitate MMBL borrowers specifically women entrepreneurs, by enabling them to become sellers on Daraz.

Through this collaboration, MMBL and Daraz will provide adequate opportunities to promote Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs), more so now as the e-commerce platform is going through an all-time boom via the 11.11 sale. Both the organizations are firmly committed to promoting women’s financial inclusion through the provision of enabling digital financial ecosystem that contributes directly towards empowering this underserved, yet influential segment, which comprises almost half of the country’s population. 

MMBL’s flagship program, Women Inspirational Network (WIN) and Daraz’s Ibtida would together provide an incredible boost to our joint mission of upskilling women entrepreneurs and provide them easy access to digitally equipped growth opportunities.

Sharing his enthusiasm, Ehsan Saya, Managing Director at DarazPakistan,said, “We strongly believe women are not only the cornerstone of our society but instrumental in securing a better future for Pakistan. One of the most amazing things about our platform is how easily female entrepreneurs can sell their products all over Pakistan – empowering them is the epitome of uplifting communities”

This partnership will allow freshly onboarded MMBL female sellers to be charged 0% commission for the first 3 months, giving them ample time to set up their businesses. Moreover, female sellers from Daraz will be able to apply for MMBL loans at concessional rates.

Mr. Saya added, “We hope to use Daraz as a force to strengthen the SME sector of Pakistan by providing them support with the right tools and education material prepared by our expert teams. This collaboration is a step towards fueling the growth of Pakistan’s economy through the power of commerce which is Daraz’s core purpose.”

Muhammad Asim Anwar, Chief Business and Products Officer at MMBL said, “MMBL’s partnership with Daraz has opened new doors for fostering financial inclusivity in Pakistan by laying the groundwork for a digital economic boom that will be particularly beneficial for women-owned businesses and SMEs. By making e-commerce ever more accessible to them, we are paving the way for the economic uplift of Pakistan as a whole.”

Speaking at the event, Sardar Mohammad Abubakr, Chief Finance & Digital Officer at MMBL, said, “Financial empowerment of women through e-commerce is an unmissable opportunity in today’s rapidly digitalizing world. Through our partnership with Daraz under MMBL’s Women Inspirational Network program, we aim to provide women entrepreneurs with a strong digital platform they need to maximize their business outreach and fully benefit from the wave of digitization sweeping across Pakistan and globally.”

MMBL’s branches will feature Daraz booths so that potential sellers can be onboarded on the e-commerce platform seamlessly. Likewise, the e-commerce platform will help conversions to MMBL’s wide range of branch and branchless banking products and services.

The partnership will significantly amplify the economic growth of the country by contributing directly towards developing women-led SMEs particularly. 

Punjab International Business Conference. CEO CBD Imran Amin has Signed MOUs in Punjab International Business Conference at Dubai

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Dubai/Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Punjab Govt is taking part in Dubai Expo 2020 to portray and highlight business investment and tourism potential of Punjab. Punjab International Business Conference is being held to highlight this potential. On 2nd day of the event, Minister for Industry and Commerce Mr. Mian Aslam Iqbal, Finance Minister Punjab Mr. Hashim Jawan Bakht, Minister for Punjab Housing & Public Health Mr. Malik Asad Ali Khokhar, Minister for Higher Education Department and IT, Raja Yasir Humayun and Advisor to CM on Tourism Asif Mehmood and CEO CBD Punjab & RUDA, Mr. Imran Amin attended the event and briefed the audience on Punjab’s hidden potential and steps that are being taken by current Govt to ensure sustainable growth and attract more foreign investments. CEO CBD Punjab & RUDA Mr. Imran Amin signed number of MOUs with various multinational organisations. CBD Punjab and Jazz, A VEON group subsidiary are partnering in attaining IOT and Digital ICT infrastructure which will help city automation, smart city context, cloud hosting, data centers and much more. Mr. Ali Naseer, Chief Business Officer for JAZZ signed the MOU with CBD Punjab. CBD Punjab is also partnering with Malaysian Green Tech and Climate Change Center (MGTC). They will assist and guide CBD Punjab in creating a sustainable living and work space in line with The Prime Minister of Pakistan’s broader vision of sustainable and eco-friendly development. Mr. Syed Ahmed Syed Mustafa, Chief Operating Officer for MGTC signed the MOU with CBD Punjab.

Education Powers the Wheels of Hope – Cycle for Change

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Islamabad (Muhammad Yasir) Since early 2020, Covid-19 put a stop to all social activities including fundraising events, across the globe. In Pakistan, education got a big hit! It became a challenge to continue the education process online for children in all educational institutions, in particular children of lower income groups.

After a gap of nearly 2 years, the Supporters of TCF (STCF) organised an exciting event, Cycle For Change for much needed funds and support, in order to continue the journey of literacy. This was a wholesome and fun experience for individuals and members of leading cycling clubs of Karachi. The cyclists dedicated this day to cycle and raise funds for the children of TCF. Over 250 cyclists from Karachi as well as a few from Lahore participated in the event. They cycled early morning from Seaview and other areas of Karachi to TCF Qayummabad Campus where they met TCF students and took a tour of the school. They applauded the efforts of TCF to promote quality education in Pakistan and to nurture the dreams of the most deserving children.

Healthcare summit demands slashing prices of life-saving drugs in Pakistan

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Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) The Prime Minister should immediately act to bring down the medicine prices in the country to ensure their availability to underprivileged people who have been facing acute problems in getting access to quality health care services. This was one of the consensus demand by the speakers who addressed the 4th Pakistan Healthcare Summit-2021 organised by Consumers’ Association of Pakistan (CAP) here at a hotel. The speakers demanded the government to immediately intervene to curtail the prices of life-saving drugs in the country so that they could be purchased by the patients belonging to middle and lower income groups. They said the medicine prices should be slashed keeping in view skyrocketing inflation in the country owing to which, people had a hard time finding quality health care services.

They demanded strict enforcement of the recently issued code of ethics of Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) to regulate relations between the pharmaceutical companies and doctors so not to incentivize the practice of prescribing medicines to the patients. They said the drug manufacturers should be taken to task by the government in accordance with the newly notified rules of the DRAP for offering undue favours to the doctors for prescribing to their patients the medicines produced by these companies. They urged the medical practitioners to fully adhere to the general code of ethics of their profession to make sure that every ailing citizen in the country got access to the best health treatment services in an honourable way.

The speakers, most of whom were associated with the health profession, also demanded the government to readily issue health insurance cards in Sindh to treat underprivileged patients who had no other means to get access to quality health care services. They said the destitute people in Sindh should get the facility of health insurance cards as was the case of people in Punjab and Khybe Pakthunkhwa. Speaking as the chief guest on the occasion, Chairman of Higher Education Commission Sindh, Dr Asim Hussain, said that government should give more attention to different fields of health care services. He said it was unfortunate that health and medical services had remained neglected fields in Pakistan. He said that getting best health care services was the fundamental right of every citizen, which should be fulfilled. He praised the effort on the part of the organisers of the conference to raise awareness about health care issues.

Dr Hussain, who also earlier served as an Advisor to PM, said the industries had to suffer much due to coronavirus health emergency. He also euologised the nationwide efforts to tackle the issue of coronavirus. He appreciated the services of health care professionals and workers who valiantly fought against the spread of coronavirus. The CAP Chairman Kaukab Iqbal said on the occasion that their association had been striving hard to protect the rights of consumers. He said the consumer protection act had been passed in all the four provinces of the country. He said that consumer protection departments had been constituted in different institutions. He said that they had been striving hard to ensure availability of the life-saving drugs in the country as he also acknowledged the role of Dr Asim Hussain in this regard.

Others speakers at the conference included Consul General of Malaysia Khairun Nazran Abdur-Rehman,CEO Dr. Minhaj A. Qidwai, former CEO Sindh Health Care Commission, Brig (retd) Azhar Manzoor Group Head Corporate Affairs Dr. Zia Uddin Hospital, University, Brig (retd) Malik Waqar Awan C.E.O Memon Medical Institute Hospitals, Brig (retd) Tariq Bungush , Medical Specialist, & Consultant APNA DIYLISIS KOHAT, Mr. Johar Minhal Regional Manager Malaysian Palm Oil Board, Salim Khan, DGM Exide Pakistan. Shahzeeb Sheikh Deputy Directr Sindh Food Authority , Former MNA Rehan Hashmi, Molana Azad Jamil.

Serious measures to be taken against Air Pollution; Ejaz Tanveer

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President Pakistan Business Forum Lahore Mr. Ejaz Tanveer has shown his grave concern as the Air Quality Indicators declare the Lahore city as world’s most polluted city.
According to aqi.cn.org the air quality index in Lahore stands at 373 that falls in the hazardous category. Worst air quality in Lahore is causing serious health problems by making people terribly sick as respiratory diseases, throat and eyes infections are on the rise and the situation has gotten worse over the past decade; says Ejaz Tanveer.
Government should evaluate the issue on scientific basis and take deep rooted serious measures to cope with this challenge.
Mr. Ejaz Tanveer demands that the government should deal with the root causes of smog like crop burning, public transport smoke, factory emissions and other such factors.
He says government should facilitate vehicle manufacturers to shift on electric technology following the Euro 5 tandard for all vehicles being produced in the country, focus on planting trees and facilitate office to use buses for staff pick n drop.

Experts call for skilled labour force to attain economic growth

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Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Stressing the need to grab a substantial share of employments in international as well as local labour market, experts at a webinar have said this goal can be achieved only through getting technical education and vocational training that will also ensure economic stability in Pakistan.

The webinar titled ‘Accelerating Pakistan’s Economic Growth through Skilled Labour Force’ was arranged by the TVET Sector Support Programme (SSP) with the aim to highlight the significance of skills development for the youth to become globally competitive as well as ensure sustained economic and social development.

The TVET SSP is funded by the European Union, Germany and Norwegian Embassy while its implementing partner is the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in close collaboration with the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC), provincial Technical Education and Vocational Training Authorities (TEVTAs) and many other private sector organizations.

Labour Market, TVET and gender expert Sabina Ahmed, labour economist and labour market expert Dr Zafar Mueen Nasir and Head of TVET SSP Iris Cordelia Rotzoll were the experts in the webinar panel. 

Moderator Sonia Omair, Technical Advisor Communication TVET SSO, explained the importance of TVET sector and technical and vocational trainings to achieve strong careers in the national and global labour market.

Giving her expert opinion in the webinar, Sabina Ahmed said that education merely is not the way to progress and has the sustainable position in the job industry. “Trainings both technical and vocational for our people especially youth are direly needed to attain best career opportunities at national and international level,” she maintained.

Dr Zafar Mueen Nasir spoke in detail about how to gain the sustainable growth in social & economic sector. He mentioned that “sustainability in economic and social growth is related to the employment opportunities.”

He, however, linked job opportunities with the skills enhancement. “More the people are technically trained, more they have the chances to be recruited in reputable organizations,” he stressed.

Participating in the discussion, Iris Cordelia Rotzoll expressed the satisfaction that people are now realizing the importance of technical and vocational education and trainings for the workforce employability.

“People are enhancing their skills through TVET SSP and thus workforce employability is also increasing. Through green skills and digital skills, we can do more for the economy of Pakistan,” he said. 

The experts also focused on disparity between labour market demand of trained individuals and education given to the population in the contemporary era which is not according to the needs of the industry.

According to them, workforce employability depends on various factors such as education, managerial skills, adaptation of technology, level of investment and but technical and vocational competence remains on the top. They also stressed that the workforce must have a high-quality education along with demand-driven skills training.

Finance teams urged to embrace change and be the leaders of transformation

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  • ACCA, CA ANZ and Generation CFO join forces to help finance teams navigate disruption, risks and continuous change.
  • Insights from NTT DATA explain that transformation is a series of strategic, incremental, changes that improve the business model.
  • Organisations continue to face rapid change in the face of Covid-19, climate change and technological innovations – and a new report urges the finance functions who work in these places to lead and embrace this change, or risk being left behind.
  • In Transformational journeys: finance and the agile organisation ACCA, CA ANZ and Generation CFO assert that the role of the finance function and its skill sets are intricately linked to organisational transformation. But they also warn that certainty about the purpose of finance and accountancy professionals in organisations is needed to ensure their future relevance. How the finance team aligns to organisational goals is vital to ensure they continue to contribute effectively to the transformation of where they work – whether large or small. Finance teams’ roles are becoming wider in scope, managing operational, climate and non-financial data, and delivering insights based on robust data analytics collected by efficient and effective processes. As such, they need to be at the heart of transformation as key players in an organisation’s performance and control agendas. Helen Brand, chief executive of ACCA explains: ‘Finance professionals have a clear role to play in transformation. The nature of that role is dependent on the extent to which they have a vision of how finance itself can contribute to the organisation of the future. Finance teams need to be forward thinking and agile in the face of relentless change.’ Ainslie van Onselen, chief executive, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand adds: ‘There’s no doubt that the speed of change will continue to accelerate. Being prepared for that acceleration will enable finance and accountancy professionals to play their full role in the transformation process and help secure long-term organisational success.’ Chris Argent, Founder and CEO, Generation CFO comments: ‘The advice I’d give as a one-time FD myself, is for accountants to explore how they can play a major role in the future direction and development of their organisations. This is not just about appreciating the technology enhancements that are on-going, but also understanding the cultural shifts in the ways of working that the pandemic has brought into focus.’ The report includes insights from Jason Ford, Vice President at NTT DATA UK regarding what transformation actually is – strategic, incremental, changes that improve the business model – and key trends in transformation, from understanding the risks to the rise of the ‘Cloud Native’. Ford explains: ‘Transformation is a very broad topic. As organisations evolve to respond to the needs of their customers, we must reappraise how we assess the effectiveness of transformation. This requires collaboration between those charged with the development and delivery of services and the finance function, in order to understand the realities of the investment case and effective performance measurement. It is for this reason that organisations need to ensure agility is at the heart of their business strategy, so they can not only respond quickly and adapt to shifting customer expectations, but they do so in the most effective and efficient manner possible.’ Advice and ways to make transformation happen conclude the report, with tangible ways accountants can lead the way from engaging with the environment as a matter of urgency to looking to the purpose of businesses and the profession’s moral responsibility.

Samrah Enterprises to present Fresh-st at the pakistan-africa trade development expo in Nigeria

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Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) Samrah Enterprises, one of the leading distribution companies in Pakistan, is all set to present their highly acclaimed brand Fresh St at the second Pakistan-Africa Trade Development Conference and the Single Country Exhibition in Lagos, Nigeria, scheduled for 23 – 25 November 2021.

Fresh St., a brand distributed under the House of Samrah, has a large product-line to offer, starting with the condiments category with a complete and assorted range of seasoned sauces, syrups, mayonnaise, and vinegars, to an assorted range of frozen products that includes potato-fries mixed vegetables, strawberries, sweet-corn, broccoli, etc. All these products are of European origin and are being proudly packed in Pakistan, representing a mélange of Western and Eastern cuisine culture.

Sharing her thoughts, Samrah Munsub, the Founder and Director, Samrah Enterprises said, “We are very happy to introduce Fresh-St products to African market through this event. The product line caters to the consumers with different preferences, filling a huge gap in the market. After a thorough research into these brands and the amazing response they have received worldwide, we decided to introduce these products here.”

Commenting further, Muhammad Salman, VP Marketing Samrah Enterprises, said “We are bringing the best quality products to Africa, packaged in Pakistan at the newly established state-of-the-art facility, the aim is to cover the surrounding markets, with Pakistan as a hub, from Africa, Middle East, Central Asian Republics, and South & South East Asia.”

The Pakistan-Africa Trade Development expo is being organized by the Ministry of Commerce of Pakistan, in association of the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), and the High Commission to Pakistan to Nigeria. The event will also showcase products from different industry sectors such as food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, electronics, beauty and cosmetics among others by the leading exporters to explore and enhance the business opportunities with Nigerian investors.