Governor Balochistan Malik Abdul Wali Khan Kakar expressed his regret that labor rooms were not functioning in most of the districts of the province. He expressed these views while addressing the participants of the 15th Pakistan Pediatric Conference 2024 held in the provincial capital Quetta.
On this occasion, Caretaker Provincial Health Minister Dr. Amir Muhammad Jogaizai, President Pediatric Neurology Dr. Shahnaz Ibrahim, Chairman Organizing Committee Dr. Habibullah Babar, Dr. Jamal Raza, Dr. Attaullah Bizenjo and Dr.Tipu Sultan besides other people from various fields of life were present.
Addressing the conference, the Governor said that if the medicines provided by the government did not reach the patients, no meaningful change was seen after spending billions of rupees from the Federal and provincial budgets in various sectors. If doctors and teachers do not attend health and education institutions, who is responsible for it, he questioned.
He said that to change these unfavorable conditions, we have to speak the truth, time demanded that we all sit together to find a lasting solution. He said that today’s prestigious conference and holding a conference on a sensitive but very important topic regarding children’s health, especially neurology was a commendable act, the purpose of which was to define a healthy society.
It is a fact that the bright future of a country or nation is conditioned by mentally and physically healthy people, inviting experts from different fields of life, especially neurologists would certainly help in devising a comprehensive strategy at the national level, he said. He said that we were sure that such conscious efforts would yield positive results.
The Governor said that the province of Balochistan which was relatively a backward province has the highest maternal and child mortality rate even today due to the small but dispersed population of the province, it was a big challenge to bring basic health facilities to the doorsteps of the people. He said that it was also a sad aspect of our society that you see children like our flowers in various shops, hotels, garages and rubbish heaps.
In a house where there is severe poverty and the parents are also not educated, in such a situation parents cannot do anything for the education and treatment of their children, he said. He said that even in this advanced age of science and technology, thousands of people in Balochistan die every year from curable diseases like malaria, jaundice, polio.—APP
