Services of PAEC in Pakistan health sector lauded

ISLAMABAD: The role and services of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) for use of nuclear and other advanced techniques for diagnosis and treatment, have been profusely admired for eradication of cancerous and allied diseases as the views have been expressed at the 67th session of the general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), where a signing ceremony at the brinks of the prestigious international gathering was held.

The commission is actively involved in the national cancer awareness, prevention, and diagnosis and treatment programme. The services of PAEC in the health sector in Pakistan were lauded and Pakistan’s Nuclear Medicine, Oncology and Radiotherapy Institute (NORI) has been designated as an Anchor Centre under the IAEA’s “Rays of Hope initiative”.

According to a communication issued on the occasion an agreement has been inked which NORI has been designated as IAEA “Anchor Centre” to enhance member states’ capabilities in cancer research. The Anchor Centre Agreement was signed by PAEC Chairman Dr. Raja Ali Raza Anwar. Director General IAEA, Rafael Mariano Grossi was also present.

Anchor Centres are designated cancer treatment facilities which work with the IAEA to support and provide relevant expertise in the respective region. The centres are part of the IAEA’s Rays of Hope (RoH) initiative, which aims to assist member states in establishing or expanding their capacities in radiotherapy and multimodality medical imaging. The designated Anchor Centres will train fellows, organise training courses for healthcare providers, participate in IAEA coordinated research projects, promote networking, and provide experts and mentorship to other radiotherapy and medical imaging centres in their region. Along with Pakistan, Anchor Centre Agreements with cancer institutes from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Turkiye were also signed during the ceremony. Dr. Muhammad Fahim Director NORI has been personally supervising the expansion and developmental work in the Islamabad based institute.

The NORI is one of the 19 cancer hospitals run by PAEC, established in 1983 in Islamabad, is a state-of-the-art facility and the only fully fledged tertiary care cancer hospital of Pakistan specifically designed for diagnosing and treating the cancer patients, equipped with state of art apparatus including Cyberknife.