National paediatrics moot begins

PESHAWAR: The three-day 21st national paediatrics conference (PAEDSCON) got underway here on Friday wherein the provincial government announced to resume soon full health cover under the health card after a brief pause.

The conference has been organised by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter of Pakistan Paediatric Association (PPA). 

Caretaker Minister for Health Prof Dr Mohammad Riaz Anwar was the chief guest while his counterpart from Balochistan Ameer Mohammad Khan Jogezai was the guest of honour at the inaugural ceremony of the moot. The inaugural ceremony was also addressed by PPAKP President Dr Mohammad Hussain, central secretary general of PPA Dr Khalid Shafi.

Known health practitioner Dr Zulfiqar A Bhutta was the keynote speaker.Dr Riaz Anwar said the Health Department was trying its level best to reclaim excellence in healthcare despite limited resources.

He said when the caretaker cabinet was installed , the health card service was suffering a loss worth Rs 44 billion which forced them to suspend most of the services provided for free through the health card.

However, he added, the government continued to provide free treatment for cancer, dialysis and emergency through the health card. The minister said the KP government was trying to manage funds for the free health care service and soon full medical cover would be provided to the people through the health card.

Regarding child health, he said that every child had the right to get all the facilities without any discrimination.He said the government was trying to provide the best health facilities to children and bring down the neonatal mortality rate in the country.

The minister said there used to be small units for paediatrics in big hospitals, which have now been upgraded and promoted to Child Healthcare Institute. He said the first state-of-the-art Khyber Institute for Child Health would be formally inaugurated in the provincial capital.

The institute was envisioned by senior paediatricians, Prof Dr Ashfaq and Prof Dr Abdul Hameed, he said. The minister affirmed his resolve to recruit doctors and ensure attendance and thus overcome the pressing challenges of improving primary and secondary healthcare systems.

Ameer Mohammad Khan Jogezai lamented that primary health had been ignored everywhere in the country. He said doctors had an obligation towards the society but added that unfortunately they were not performing duties with true spirit.

“Let me tell you the story of my province. We recruited 900 doctors in the peripheries. But when I embarked upon the visit of the districts. I could find only 120 of them performing duties regularly while the rest were missing,” he remarked.

Dr Bhutta in his lecture stressed the need for articulated struggle for attaining the sustainable development goals. “We need to focus attention on increasing awareness about the SDGs without thinking whether they would be achieved by 2030 or not,” he stressed.

Dr Mohammad Hussain welcomed the guests to the conference. He said that the delegates from across the country were participating in the event. He said the participants would share knowledge and experience in the academic activity, which would not only broaden the knowledge-base of the participants but also help increase their skills and experience. Dr Tufail and Prof Mohammad Aqeel paid tributes to the heroes of paediatric health who laid their lives during the Covid pandemic.