Curse of the quack

This refers to the news report, ‘Meagre allocation made for health in budget: CJP’ (February 21). Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali has disclosed that a large number of ghost employees are present in the Sindh health department. Corruption is not confined to Sindh alone. The whole country is afflicted with this curse, particularly the government sector. In 2014, we ranked 126th out of 174 countries on the Corruption Perceptions Index published by Transparency International.

There are an estimated 70,000 quacks in the country, playing havoc with the lives and earnings of the people. Many clinics and dispensaries are being run illegally. The government, particularly State Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Saira Afzal Tarar, should take notice of the observations made by the chief justice and enact appropriate laws to curb malpractices in the health sector.

Engr Mansoor Ahmed

Faisalabad