Category: Health

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) METRO, the leading international wholesale company, has joined hands with Indus Hospitals and Health Network (IHHN), to extend its support for their health and charity initiatives. As part of the support METRO Pakistan (Pvt) Limited commemorated the World Hepatitis Day at its Canal and Model Town Stores in Lahore, where Indus Hospitals setup kiosks for creating awareness and distributed flyers among the staff and customers.

Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Pervaiz Akhtar, Director Corporate Affairs, METRO Pakistan, said; “We, as a responsible corporate citizen, are always open to provide support to the health related initiatives, and this cooperation with Indus Hospitals & Health Network is part of the same thought process. We hope that our small contribution will help spread the right knowledge for our customers, as well as for our own staff.”

A detailed session on types, prevention, and cure of Hepatitis was held for METRO staff at the Model Town Store conducted by the qualified doctors from IHHN, which estimated that approx. 14 million patients across Pakistan suffer from Hepatitis C virus (HCV), and how Indus hospital provides free of cost and quality treatment to as many patients as possible.

Furthermore, the kiosks at METRO stores also distributed colorful collectible money-box among the children, to encourage the habit of taking out money for charity.

Islamabad (Nut Desk) British High Commissioner on Tuesday observed that Pakistan’s population was going to double in the next 30 years putting a huge burden on its resources that demanded proper response to address the pressing issue. The British envoy made these remarks during a ceremony to commemorate the World Population Day, a collaborative event was conducted here in a joint effort of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Pakistan, British High Commission, Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination (NHSRC), and Population Programme Wing (PPW), the event revolved around the theme”A world of 8 billion: Towards a resilient future for all – Harnessing opportunities and ensuring rights and choices for all,” a news release said. While addressing the event, British High Commissioner, Christian Turner said, “The business-as-usual approach needs to stop. It is important to talk about family planning.

The UK is the largest donor on Family Planning in Pakistan and has been supporting the country since 2012. Delivering Accelerated Family Planning in Pakistan (DAFPAK) is a £90 million programme that has so far reached 7 million family planning users mostly from marginalized communities.

The UK remains committed to support Pakistan.” While addressing the World Population Day event via a video testimonial, President Dr Arif Alvi expressed concern over the constant population growth and the meager resources available in Pakistan. He said that the government needs to exercise all options to sensitize the public about negative implications of population growth not only on human health, especially of mother and child, but also on economic as well as social life of people.

Minister for Health, Abdul Qadir Patel remarked that Pakistan’s population is likely to double in the next 30 years. He stressed that all partners and stakeholders including civil society organizations and NGOs should come together and join hands with the government to address this growing issue. DG Population, Population Programme Wing (PPW), Dr. Sabina Durrani commented that parents have the right to freely and responsibly decide the number and spacing of their children to fulfill the fundamental rights of their children and family by maintaining a Balance or Tawazun between their family size and resources.

“Population is a denominator to every challenge and issue facing Pakistan right now. It is necessary that we dedicate adequate funding for accelerated Family Planning in Pakistan to reap the benefits of demographic dividend” said Dr Shabnam Sarfraz, Member Social Sector & Devolution, Planning Commission, Government of Pakistan. She also remarked that for a progressive and prosperous Pakistan, it is important that we provide equal opportunities for men and women in education, employment, and entrepreneurship.

Country Representative UNFPA Pakistan, Dr. Bakhtior Kadirov called for focusing on every person; on ensuring our world can support our needs & those of future generations, on human rights & on leaving no one behind.

Singer, philanthropist, and brand ambassador for Family Planning in Pakistan, Shehzad Roy encouraged the government to ensure that before a married couple visits the Nikkah registrar to get their marriage certificate, they should be obligated to pass a basic reproductive health course so that they have adequate knowledge about family planning and birth spacing before they begin their married life. “This would not only encourage people to adopt family planning measures but also create awareness in women about their basic rights”, Shehzad added. The need for family planning remains staggeringly high in Pakistan.

The grassroots challenges are present such as misconceptions, lack of trained health staff, communication gap between the partners, and others but if we don’t make a serious change, Pakistan’s population is likely to double in the next 30 years.

Peshawar (Muhammad Yasir) To swiftly rise above the challenge left behind by the pandemic, the International Rescue Committee’s 14-month intervention “Strengthening Healthcare including Nutrition in Emergencies,” (SHiNE) is benefitting men, women and children in Orakzai & South Waziristan districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Through this program, 150,000 men, women and children have so far benefitted from the state-of-the-art health facilities set up in their areas. Among them are 45,000 women and children, who, previously had to travel long distances to avail of basic health services.

Over 100 deliveries have also been supported by trained, gender-sensitive healthcare providers at the target facilities. Over 12,000 women and children have been screened for malnutrition and 1,390 cases have been enrolled in community-based programs for rehabilitation. It has also proved instrumental in creating awareness about hygiene, healthcare services and increasing their uptake.

The initiative launched with the support of the European Union, and in partnership with the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Medical Emergency Resilience Foundation (MERF) focuses on improving access to health facilities by strengthening the system to cater to specific needs under maternal, newborn, and child health care. It also covers integrated Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) activities, in the vicinity of the targeted health facilities coupled with awareness-raising for infection prevention and improved health-seeking behaviours.

The International Rescue Committee has urged the federal and provincial governments to mainstream integrated health interventions that are tailored to the unique needs of the most vulnerable populations across the country.

The Country Director of the International Rescue Committee, Ms. Shabnam Baloch, said “Our recent experience of working in South Waziristan and Orakzai districts has shown that integrated health interventions targeting the specific needs of vulnerable populations can go a long way in service improvements, community engagement, encouraging long-term public-private partnerships, and systems strengthening. These are all necessary prerequisites to increase coverage, efficiency, and the quality of healthcare services,”

Chief Executive Officer at MERF, Dr. Shah Miran stated “For the first time in decades the provision of comprehensive healthcare services has been ensured in hard to reach areas like Mamoozai in Orakzai and Angor Adda in South Waziristan while the people of Shaktoi belt in Anakhel have finally witnessed the operationalization of a Basic Health Unit (BHU) in their area which remained non-functional for over two decades,”.

This public-private partnership has played a key role in revitalizing the health systems, encouraged repatriation, and created a strong public demand for the continuity of such services. “The provision of nutrition supplies in the target areas that have food insecurity and acute malnutrition as high as 20%, is not less than a blessing at a time when inflation, starvation, and lack of agricultural productivity are already taking a toll on the poorest of households” added Dr. Miran.

The SHiNE intervention, which is in direct support of the provincial government’s ongoing efforts to provide uninterrupted quality healthcare to the underserved populations of the NMDs deserves greater attention by policymakers and legislators. Important lessons learned from this program, if replicated and mainstreamed can have a lasting, positive impact on Pakistan’s overall health & nutrituion indicators.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Considering media as the fourth pillar of a
state due to its important role towards transferring information and
opinion making, experts at a consultative workshop have called for
capacity building of media persons especially on health issues
including provision of emergency healthcare services.

Healthcare professionals, representatives from media regulators, media
experts and academicians attended the consultative workshop which was
organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC),
APPNA Institute of Public Health-Jinnah Sindh Medical University and
Khyber Medical University.

Objective of the workshop, which was part of the ICRC’s Health Care in
Danger (HCiD) initiative, was to develop training for journalists to
promote ethical and responsible reporting on the issues related to
healthcare in Pakistan.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Lubna Ansari-Baig, Chairperson
AIPH-JSMU, said, “Various research studies have identified that
irresponsible media reporting always hinders the provision of
emergency healthcare services. There is a need to improve the
standards of media reporting on health issues to counter
misperceptions, promote factual reporting, and stop the gradual
erosion of trust between healthcare providers and the public.”

The experts in the workshop deliberated in depth upon the problems
pertaining to reporting on health matters in national media and
provided their feedback to strengthen the content of the training.
They also stressed upon the need for following up this exercise with
hands-on trainings for journalists on ethical standards of reporting
on health.

Participating in the discussion, Secretary General of Pakistan Medical
Association, Dr Qaisar Sajjad, said, “Healthcare workers are working
in challenging circumstances, especially in emergency departments, to
provide life-saving services. They need the support of media personnel
to promote attitudes and behaviours among the general public that
facilitate the provision of healthcare services”.

The representatives of media at the workshop voiced the needs of
journalists and reporters specific to reporting on health care. They
called for media persons’ capacity building and trainings to
objectively report on the issues facing the healthcare sector.

At the same time, they were also of the view that it’s important for
healthcare workers to also enhance their communication skills to
enable a clearer flow of information between the media and healthcare
professionals, especially during disasters or emergencies.

Under the HCiD initiative, the ICRC has been working to make
healthcare safer in Pakistan by promoting evidence-based initiatives
in collaboration with diverse stakeholders including public health
institutions, medical academia, healthcare authorities, and the
Pakistan Red Crescent Society.

The Aga Khan University Hospitals Clinical Laboratory Re-Accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP) for the Third Time, Remains the Only Clinical Laboratory in Pakistan to Receive the Prestigious Accreditation

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) The Aga Khan University Hospitals Clinical Laboratory has received the gold standard College of American Pathologists (CAP) accreditation for the third time and remains the only clinical laboratory in Pakistan to receive this prestigious accreditation. This accreditation is a certification that AKUH Clinical Laboratories follow over 3,500 standards to provide our patients timely and accurate results every time.

A team of seven inspectors – practicing professionals qualified through CAP training programme – visited the Aga Khan University Hospital and its Outreach Health Network on a two-day visit from 10 March to 11 March 2022, to audit AKUH laboratory’s quality records, staff qualifications, validation of tests, equipment, facilities, safety programmes and overall management against 3,500+ indicators.

Shagufta Hassan, CEO AKU Outreach Health Network, Pakistan said that the Clinical Laboratories of AKU are a national asset and have grown from one laboratory on its Stadium Road campus in Karachi to over 294 phlebotomy centers and 13 stat-laboratories across 126 cities in Pakistan. “AKU is recognized as a leader in its academic programmes and clinical services.” She continued, “We strive to achieve the highest standards of quality that not only meet but exceed the expectations of their families.”

At the debriefing after the audit, the CAP inspectors expressed their satisfaction and commended the efforts of the teams who were involved in maintaining highest quality standards every day.

“There are no showstoppers in this place. You’re a busy place and you’re a very complex place; it’s probably one of the most complex labs in the world. You have a big checklist with a lot of items, and it takes a strong team, with a lot of deep understanding of the different disciplines [to do this work]. You should be very proud of that,” said Dr Aaron Han, Chief Auditor CAP.

Mr. Suleiman Shahabuddin, President, The Aga Khan University, expressed his gratitude to the team for achieving this milestone for the third time and said, “We have excellent people, who are passionate to deliver highest quality healthcare and have a drive to constantly improve our operations so that our patients and their loved ones are satisfied that they are in good hands.”

“We are committed to the delivery of accurate and timely results for our patients by providing highest levels of quality standards and transparency,” said Dr Farooq Ghani, Director CAP accreditation.

The Aga Khan University Hospitals and the AKU Outreach Health Network, Pakistan has a robust Patient Welfare and Zakat programmes. In 2021 alone, 950,000 patients received Zakat support work PKR 3.7 billion.

 

Islamabad (Muhammad Yasir) Pakistan’s largest digital bank, Mobilink Microfinance Bank Limited (MMBL) has partnered with WebDoc, Pakistan’s leading digital doctors advisory & insurance service. MMBL customers can now enjoy the convenience of accessing health services on their mobile phones, utilizing affordable plans. Ghazanfar Azzam, President & CEO of MMBL, and Asim Zia Alam, CEO WebDoc signed a Partnership Agreement, in presence of senior officials from both organizations.

Through this strategic collaboration, MMBL strives to improve the quality of life by combining information and communications technology and opening new doors to e-health solutions for all its clientele while focusing on connecting them to experienced Pakistan Medical & Dental Council (PMDC) certified Doctors. Customers will benefit from online and offline consultation for non-emergency cases including real-time monitoring, 100% reimbursement at non-panel hospitals, double coverage for loss of income, and unlimited all-day teleconsultation for the whole family via Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and WhatsApp channels. Soon, the services will also be available on the MMBL Dost app.

Sharing his thoughts on the development, Ghazanfar Azzam, President and CEO MMBL said: “As MMBL looks to diversify its offerings into e-health solutions, the Bank sees a great opportunity to provide its customers with a platform that can meet their healthcare needs digitally, with convenience and affordability. We at MMBL are always on the lookout for innovative opportunities that can break the digital divide and improve our customers’ quality of life and this cooperative effort with WebDoc is a step forward in the same direction.”

Also, speaking at the occasion, CEO WebDoc, Asim Zia Alam said: “WebDoc is thrilled to partner with MMBL to empower the bank’s customers for their healthcare advisory and insurance services, consequently promoting financial inclusion. WebDoc is the leading health-tech, insure-tech, and agri-tech company, serving over 23 million subscribers and counting. I see this partnership expanding swiftly and strongly in the years to come which will benefit the customers, especially in remote areas.”

As a people-focused organization, MMBL is dedicated to improving its products and services portfolio with a growing focus on developing better digital financial solutions. In line with MMBL’s unwavering commitment to financially include all, the Bank focuses all its energies on enhancing the digital infrastructure for new and improved experiences.

Lahore (Nut Desk)

Remaining steadfast to its commitment to the Global Goals, Indus Motor Company (IMC) made a Rs.5 million, donation to the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT). The company’s, Chief Executive, Ali Asghar Jamali met with the esteemed Dr. Adibul Hasan Rizvi, founder of SIUT, and presented the cheque to him.

SIUT has established itself as Pakistan’s largest kidney disease centre where around 1,700 dialysis treatments are carried out daily. This initiative is yet another effort to lend a helping hand to SIUT and its healthcare system.

Expressing his views, Ali Asghar Jamali reiterated IMC’s long-standing spirit of “Concern Beyond Cars” and giving back to the community and said, “Pakistan’s healthcare system is one of the country’s pressing concerns and hospitals such as the SIUT, are doing a lot of good work helping thousands, especially the less privileged, with quality healthcare for free.

 Dr. Adibul Rizvi is one of the most recognized and respected names in the health sector and it is an honour for us to have formed a long-lasting relationship with SIUT, that allows us, as a socially conscious company, to do our part in giving back to our people.”

IMC remains strong in its resolve for the well-being of deserving communities through its diverse, need-based Corporate Social Responsibility Programme implemented in partnership with creditable organizations. IMC is a regular donor to some of the biggest healthcare centres in the country including the JPMC, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital, Indus Hospital, The Kidney Centre, etc.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Lahore Central Business District Development Authority (LCBDDA) also known as Central Business District Punjab (CBD Punjab) arranged a blood donation drive at CBD Punjab house, to assist Al Qaim Foundation in combating Thalassemia. This initiative is a testament to CBD’s corporate social responsibility agenda. Al Qaim Foundation has been doing remarkable work for the treatment of patients suffering from Thalassemia, Hemophilia and Blood Cancer.

CBD Punjab employees & even apprentices volunteered in the noble cause and donated blood for the Thalassemia patients. Sharing his view on this collaboration the Executive Director Commercial, CBD Punjab – Mohammad Omer said: “CBD Punjab has always been at the forefront when it comes to supporting social causes. Through this assistance, we aim to encourage and actively take part in philanthropic activities for Thalassemia patients that they are not alone in this fight”. CBD Punjab, being a responsible entity, has always shown strong dedication towards the well-being of society and continues its support such causes in spreading awareness about thalassemia.

 

The purpose of this collaboration is to provide quality and accessible health care to Pakistan Railways’ 70,000 current & ex-employees and millions of passengers nationwide.

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) Sehat Kahani, Pakistan’s leading digital healthcare platform, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Railways, Government of Pakistan and Pakistan Railways.

The signing ceremony was graced by the honorable Secretary/Chairman Pakistan Railways ,Government of Pakistan, Mr. Khalid Gardezi.

Under the MOU, Sehat Kahani will provide round the clock access to qualified healthcare professionals through its network of 7,000+ expert doctors to 70,000 plus current and 150,000 retired employees of Pakistan Railways, along with their families.

Under the partnership, Sehat Kahani would also create specialized packages for Pakistan Railways’ passengers through “On The Go” clinics at all major railway stations of Pakistan where Pakistan Railways will provide on ground infrastructure level support, facilitation in staff training, and creating visibility for Sehat Kahani’s spectrum of digital health services among its employees as well as beneficiaries.

This MOU will mark the first of its kind public private partnership between the Ministry of Railways/Pakistan Railways and Sehat Kahani that will have long term impact on the health and wellbeing of millions of travelers, and Pakistan Railways workers.

The MOU signing ceremony was attended by the dignitaries of Sehat Kahani, Ministry of Railways and Pakistan Railways. The MOU was signed between Dr. Sara Saeed Khurram, CEO Sehat Kahani and Mr. Imran Hayat Khan ,Director General Operations ,Ministry of Railways

Dr. Sara Saeed Khurram, on this prestigious occasion said “We are extremely humbled and feel privileged to partner with an institution that has always been serving the nation. We look forward to providing the best of services to the employees and travelers of Pakistan Railways and will hope to expand this collaboration over the years.”

Mr. Imran Hayat Khan said that this initiative will not only help us provide quality care to our employee base and passenger but will also help us understand their health issues and do long term strategic planning for their health and wellbeing.

Gracing the occasion .Mr. Khalid Gardezi said that using technology and innovation is extremely needed to fill the gap of access to healthcare to our employees as well as millions of passengers to trust our services. We wish that this collaboration goes a long way to benefit our country and its country men.

Sehat Kahani’s resolve in democratizing health care for all in Pakistan using a network of qualified doctors and innovative technology will be strengthen by this collaboration.

Background:

Sehat Kahani is one of the leading telemedicine platforms in Pakistan that virtually connects patients in need of affordable, convenient, and flexible healthcare options to a panel of online general physicians and specialists. Till now, it has facilitated over 900,000 consultations through tele-medicine, impacting 7.2 million lives.

Ministry of Railways and Pakistan Railways: The Ministry of Railways is ministry of the Government of Pakistan tasked with planning, administrating and overseeing government policies for the development of the national rail network, Pakistan Railways.