ISLAMABAD: The country needs to make preventive healthcare a priority in its health policy and make goal-oriented and time-bound plans to improve its public health sector, says President Dr Arif Alvi.
He said this while presiding over the fourth meeting of the Senate of the Health Services Academy (HSA).
The president said preventive healthcare should be promoted in the country because it was not only cost-effective, but would also help reduce the disease burden.
He said Pakistan, being a developing country, could hardly afford to fully meet the healthcare needs of its over 220 million population through curative treatments due to limited resources.
He said some other countries had tremendously improved their health sectors by focusing on preventive health and investing in the intellectual development of their human resources.
The meeting was also briefed about the impacts of global warming and climate change which would likely increase the burden of diseases due to rising temperatures.
The meeting stressed the need for exploring funding options from international donors for research and development in the public health sector.
It emphasised resource mobilisation strategy to meet the future financial needs of HAS, as well as the healthcare programmes in the country.
The meeting also underscored the importance of devising a national plan for public health to effectively address the challenges being faced by the country’s health sector.
It endorsed the minutes of the third Senate meeting of the HAS.
