eradicate polio and restricted government authorities from taking any significant measures to check and control on a number of other diseases.
It is worth mentioning here that more than 80 per cent of the confirmed polio cases were reported from the areas where a warlike situation is prevailing because of military operations against terrorists.
The terrorists’ activities has emerged as a major factor behind emergence of a number of health threats in the country and according to experts, the country needs a special strategy to deal with the problems in warlike situation. The concerned high-ups in the government should keep in mind not only the key public health issues of 2014 but also the critical circumstances, the country has been facing while developing strategies for the year 2015.
Epidemic tobacco use, deadly tuberculosis, the link between social factors and health, unequal access to health care, and a rise in chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and cancer remained the health problems to be resolved.
According to experts, Pakistan continued to put efforts to improve primary healthcare across country in 2014 yet a lot is to be done. Climate change, which continued to endanger health and food safety were among major health issues that needs to be given more attention.
Experts say that Pakistan needs to invest a lot on research on most effective measures to protect health from climate change particularly in vulnerable populations such as women, children and elderly in the country.
It is also believed that the economic downturn has also put ripple effects on health and social spending, especially in developing countries like Pakistan. Protecting investments in health and social structures is essential to maintain stability and security, and accelerate economic recovery.
In the existing circumstances, it is need of the time to develop trauma centres at least in all major cities of the country however almost no significant measures have so far been taken for the purpose. Like the past, social inequities and injustice continued to kill people on a grand scale.
The infectious diseases which especially hit Pakistan in 2014 and made headlines in the media were gastroenteritis, dengue fever, Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic Fever and Naegleria. Thousands of cases of gastro and dengue fever were reported in various cities of Pakistan including Rawalpindi and Lahore.
Health experts believe that the major health threats that hit population in 2014 would continue to record rising trend in 2015 unless the government would not allocate a separate additional budget well in time for prevention, control and treatment of the said infections and diseases.