NO doubt, the country is struggling hard to grapple with the negative implications of Covid-19 but the crisis also has some positive aspects and the latest is announcement by Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry that the first locally made ventilator-(s) will be handed over to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) this week. In a tweet, he also shared that three more designs are in the last phase of development and after the approval, Pakistan will be among those countries which will be able to manufacture complex medical equipment, adding that all these machines will be up to par with the standards followed by the European Union.
This is, indeed, a breeze of fresh air in an otherwise subdued environment and speaks of the potential of the country in harnessing resources to advance the cause of progress and development. In fact, potential has always been there as adequately demonstrated by Pakistani scientists, engineers and technicians in mastering the world’s most complicated nuclear technology and making the country proud in the field of missile development. Apart from technological prowess exhibited by several scientific organizations, some Pakistani individuals also excelled in their relevant fields bringing laurels for the country. As for ventilators, their availability has always been a serious issue as hospitals and medical facilities had a few machines and because of their acute shortage the charges were also exorbitant – going even beyond one hundred thousand rupees per day and it is anybody’s guess that ordinary patients could not afford to bear this much cost for their treatment. In this backdrop, the speed with which some Pakistani institutions have designed and developed the machine is really appreciable. Pakistan was already an exporter of medicines and surgical equipment and diversification of manufacturing base to include all electro-medical equipment would surely help boost exports and also ensure easy and affordable availability of equipment for people. The successful designing and development of ventilators is a clear testimony that the country can effectively march on the road to research and development in different fields through collaboration of institutions of higher education and the industry and allocation of necessary financial resources for R&D. We hope that a comprehensive and integrated approach would be adopted for the purpose.
