KU seminar discusses poor healthcare facilities in Pakistan

The Department of Biochemistry of the University of Karachi in collaboration with the University of Karachi Alumni Association Baltimore, USA, organized a seminar and e-poster competition on “Health is Wealth-Spread This Word” to celebrate October as a Health Literacy Month at KU’s Audio Visual Centre on Tuesday.

During his address, the KU Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Khalid Mahmood Iraqi highlighted the issues and challenges in the healthcare sector. He pointed out the alarming fact that Pakistan still imports dengue spray medications from Germany, exposing significant gaps in the local healthcare sector.

He highlighted the country’s failure to develop its own dengue spray medication in the past twenty years as a stark indicator of the sector’s shortcomings. He raised concerns about the state of healthcare in Pakistan and emphasized the need for critical thinking and serious practical measures to address the issues in the healthcare sector.

The KU VC Professor Dr Khalid Iraqi noted the increase in breast cancer cases due to the stigma and lack of timely diagnosis. “Our society’s tragedy is that we wait for diseases to occur before seeking diagnosis and treatment. This delay is particularly detrimental in the case of breast cancer, which is often considered taboo.”

He informed the audience that the average life expectancy in Pakistan is 62 years, significantly lower than 79 years in the US and other Western countries, and 77 years in Far Eastern countries.

The KU VC Professor Dr Khalid Iraqi stressed the importance of personal responsibility for health. He mentioned that no one can force you into healthy activities; you have to take steps to improve your health yourself.

The seminar also featured Dr Zafar Abbasi from the Baqai Institute of Diabetes who provided insights into maintaining good health to prevent diabetes. Representatives from the Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology discussed the effects of stress on health and ways to manage it.

At the end of the event, students presented posters on various diseases and preventive measures, which were evaluated by Dr Bilal from Dow University, Dr Musarrat from Ziauddin University, Dr Samira from Urdu University, and Dr Tooba Latif from the University of Karachi and awards were distributed to the students who created the best posters.