Trained human resources can improve healthcare delivery: Bilawal

Foreign Minister and Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Tuesday said we can strengthen our healthcare system and improve healthcare delivery by joining hands with well-trained human resources.

Addressing a programme organised to celebrate 75 liver transplants by the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) at their Ojha campus, chief guest Bilawal extended his congratulations and best wishes to the DUHS on celebrating the successful establishment of liver transplant services in Karachi.

He stressed that the upbringing of the healthcare system and its successful conveyance to ordinary citizens has always been their priority. He inaugurated a new OPD complex comprising four blocks constructed at a cost of Rs500 million. He also performed the groundbreaking of the Oncology Unit Foundation and planted a tree.

Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said on the occasion that his Sindh government firmly believes in affordable and high-quality health care being a fundamental right of every citizen. “It’s not only ethically and socially imperative but also a necessary ingredient for the sustainable long-term development of our economy and society.”

Shah said it is a privilege to stand before our healthcare workers who have worked industriously to provide quality health care. He congratulated the DUHS for launching liver transplant services for Sindh’s people. He said the healthcare system’s foremost challenge is providing adequate health coverage and equal access to medical services for all.

“When citizens have to pay out of their own pockets, they may delay or ignore necessary treatments, and risk becoming impoverished, especially by chronic diseases which require long-term care.”

The CM said liver disease is one of our country’s leading causes of death, and liver transplant is the only lifesaving option. “Considering the social strata, many patients can’t afford liver transplants due to financial constraints, and, eventually, pass away.”

He pointed out that the allocation of funds by his government has paved the way for the development of liver transplant programmes in the province.

He said the liver transplant unit at the DUHS has successfully performed 75 transplants with the financial support of the provincial government. “In the future, more resources and funds would be provided to sustain the liver transplant programme for the betterment of humanity.”

He recalled that the Gambat Institute of Health Sciences has successfully performed 500 liver transplants free of charge, which is a big success of his government’s services in health care.

He urged the private sector and philanthropists to not only donate for liver transplants but also own or sponsor patients so they can be looked after in the post-transplant scenario.

Earlier, Dr Saad Khalid Niaz had delivered the welcome address, Dr Jahanzeb Haider gave a presentation on the liver transplant experience at the DUHS, and DUHS Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Saeed Qureshi welcomed the guests and shared the success story of the university.