Pakistan's terms. It is common knowledge that the same medicine is sold at a price five to eight times higher in Pakistan than in India. The drug manufacturers, whether local or international, must be regulated in the country's interest as would happen in any civilized society.
Many lethal diseases in Pakistan including eye infections are water-borne. Access to clean water for drinking and other purposes is the responsibility of the state. In many countries around the world you can find bottled mineral water, fizzy or still, according to your taste. But that does not mean that people are forced to purchase expensive bottled water if they don't want to get sick or otherwise install water purification equipment. If an average household of seven drinks twelve to fourteen litres of water everyday, they would need at least six thousand rupees a month to buy drinking water. And the government has very generously revised the minimum wage to rupees six thousand: what a joke! Therefore, isn't it just common sense to invest more in the preventive side of health and hygiene, which would also mean improving the quality of life, and systematically plan the provision of fundamental municipal services to the cities, towns and villages of Pakistan. I strongly endorse the recommendations of the Pakistan Medical Association and conscientious health professionals who demand effective immunization from the grassroots level and enhanced capacity of basic health units, rural health centres, tehsil/taluka hospitals and district hospitals. The teaching hospitals in cities should focus on tertiary care. A national drug formulary in the country must be established to collect and disseminate information about life-saving and essential drugs with generic version only. Import of drugs should be limited to those that are not produced locally. The food and drug administration should ensure quality assurance.
Some of my readers must be parents of small children. Would they sleep all right after knowing that innocent children, who are of the same age as their children, lose eyes, limbs or lives daily in Pakistan because of the criminal negligence on the part of the state and our elite?
The writer is an Islamabad-based poet and rights campaigner. Email: harrisspopk.org