‘Zinc can prevent thousands of diarrhoea deaths’

ISLAMABAD: Around 6.4 million cases of paediatric diarrhoea are reported annually in Pakistan where 110 children lose their lives daily due to the water-borne disease, health officials and experts said on Thursday, adding that the lives of thousands of children could be saved by using inexpensive pharmaceutical interventions including administration of Zinc along

with Oral Rehydrating Solutions (ORS).

They said thousands of lives of children were saved in the flood-affected areas of Sindh and Balochistan last year when they were given Zinc supplements along with Oral Rehydrating Solutions, adding that as per World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, Zinc supplementation improves the diarrheal treatment.

Lauding the production of Zinc products at World Health Organization (WHO) prequalified plant of local pharmaceutical firm PharmEvo in Pakistan, they said Pakistan could not only save lives of thousands of children by giving them WHO prequalified nutritional supplements but also protect precious foreign exchange by buying these products from the local market.

“Production of two Zinc products by the local pharmaceutical firm PharmEvo at their World Health Organization (WHO) prequalified plant is a great achievement for the Pakistani pharmaceutical industry. Now instead of importing these products by spending valuable foreign exchange, we can purchase them from our local company and use them to save lives of children who die due to diarrhoea on a daily basis,” Iftikhar Shalwani, federal secretary Health, told a ceremony to celebrate WHO prequalification by the PharmEvo.

Addressing the event titled “Importance of Zinc in Human Health and WHO Prequalification”, jointly organized by the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination in collaboration with the PharmEvo, Shalwani praised the Pakistani pharmaceutical industry for their role in control and treatment of diseases, saying that these companies played an important role in management of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

“And now two more Pakistani pharmaceutical products are being manufactured at the WHO prequalified plant, for which PharmEvo, Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) Chief Asim Rauf and all officials deserve praise,” Shalwani added.

Director General Health Dr Baseer Achakzai said Zinc products given to children in the flood-affected areas of Sindh and Balochistan saved thousands of lives as it was an important intervention that not only prevented and treated diarrhoea but also helped in overcoming malnutrition among children.

“Last year, I distributed thousands of bottles and packs of Zinc products in the flood-affected areas of Balochistan as well as Sindh that saved lives of thousands of children who would have died if not given Zinc and oral rehydrating solutions,” Dr Achakzai said and lauded the PharmEvo for acquiring WHO prequalification for their Zinc products.

He maintained that international donor organizations including Unicef and others purchased Zinc and other nutritional products from other countries but after WHO prequalification, Zinc products could now be produced by local companies.

“I would also urge local pharmaceutical companies to start producing TB, BIV and cancer medicines locally as we have to buy medicines worth $200 to 300 million from other countries. If these drugs are produced locally, this money would be spent on the country’s economic uplift,” he suggested and called for enhanced collaboration between industry and academia.

Praising the local pharmaceutical industry for producing medicines of international standards and quality, DRAP Chief Executive Officer Asim Rauf said Pakistan exported medicines and therapeutic goods worth $713 million last and added that now their target was to export pharmaceutical products worth one billion dollars.

“WHO prequalification of pharmaceutical plant for Zinc products is a giant leap and it would add to our pharmaceutical exports. We are also giving incentives on local production of medicines’ raw material, which will also decrease our dependence on imported API and reduce our import bill,” Asim Rauf said.

Vice Chancellor Health Services Academy Prof Shehzad Ali Khan said diarrhoea was the second leading cause of death of children under five years of age but added that half of the deaths due to diarrhoea in children were reported from Pakistan, India and Nigeria. “The majority of deaths due to diarrhoea are preventable by administration of Zinc, ORS and fluid maintenance.

It is encouraging that two Zinc products by the PharmEvo are being manufactured at the WHO prequalified manufacturing facility,” Prof Khan said. He called for linkages between academia and pharma industry and appropriate utilization of Central Research Fund (CRF) of DRAP for research and development in the pharma sector.

Managing Director PharmEvo Haroon Qasim said they were striving for the realization of their dream of a healthy society in Pakistan and acquiring WHO prequalification for two of their products was another step in that direction.

“We have never obliged anybody personally and used our resources of the capacity building, research and development as best manufacturing practices,” he added. Chief of Party US Pharmacopeia Waqar Ahmed, Chairman Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) Farooq Bukhari, Chief Operating Officer (CCO) PharmEvo Nadeem Rehmat, Shehzad Afzal from the Nutrition International, Abdus Samad from PharmEvo and others from DRAP and pharmaceutical industry also spoke.