Pima Convention urges state to take responsibility for quality education, healthcare

IV Report

KARACHI: The two-day biennial convention of the Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (Pima) concluded on September 22, emphasising the need for reforms in the education and healthcare sectors. The state was urged to take more responsibility in ensuring quality services to the masses across the country.

The convention's final day featured an address by Jamaat-e-Islami chief, Hafiz Naeem-ur Rehman, who highlighted the government's failure to provide basic health and education facilities despite spending Rs3,000 billion on these sectors. He noted that 77 years after independence, Pakistan still struggles to provide adequate healthcare and education.

Mr Rehman criticised the commercialisation of education and healthcare, particularly in the private sector, making medical education inaccessible to the middle class. "Education is the state's primary responsibility, but it has become a trade," he said. "Only 10-12% of people can reach higher education."

He mentioned that the health budget for Sindh alone stands at Rs300 billion, while the national health budget is Rs1,300 billion, yet there is no proper primary healthcare available in many parts of the country. "The situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa isn't much better, and even Punjab falls short of ideal healthcare standards."

Dr Hafeez ur Rehman, President of Alkhidmat Foundation, discussed humanitarian efforts undertaken by his organisation in Gaza, while international speakers, including Dr Mohsin Ansari and Sheikh Omar Suleiman, emphasised the need for Muslims to lead in humanitarian efforts and global advocacy for justice.

In another session, Dr Babar Saeed and Prof Atif Hafeez, President of Pima, stressed that prevention should be the primary focus in Pakistan's healthcare, given the rising costs and disease burden.

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With an uninterrupted 23-year career in daily journalism (1991-2013), the author/editor of this blog currently serves as Editor of Social Track, a weekly newspaper focused on social sectors, based in Karachi. Holding a master's degree in Mass Communications from the University of Karachi (1990), his professional experience includes roles as senior reporter at Daily Dawn, Karachi (May 2001-August 2013) and Chief Reporter at The News International, Karachi (April 1991-May 2001). He has a strong background in development journalism, he has an extensive portfolio of news stories, analytical reports and features covering a wide range of sectors. He has had the privilege of covering numerous high-profile figures, including Pakistani presidents, prime ministers, army chiefs, foreign dignitaries, and VVIPs and attending conferences and workshops abroad. He began his journalism career in the early 1980s. Throughout his career, he has received several national awards from government and private organisations. He has contributed to various radio and TV/channel broadcasts and has also served as a trainer at workshops in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad, focused on training journalists.

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