WHO mission arrives to help develop health policy

KARACHI : On the request of federal health ministry, a seven-member mission of World Health Organization (WHO) has arrived in Pakistan to assist and support Pakistan’s federal and provincial health departments to develop National Quality Policy and Strategy (NQPS) and transform a few of country’s public and private health facilities into patient-safety friendly health facilities through WHO’s flagship Patient Safety Friendly Hospital Initiative (PSFHI), health authorities said on Monday.

“On our request, a joint mission of WHO and its Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO) comprising seven international experts have arrived in Pakistan on a five day visit to help us on patient safety strategy issues and to transform our facilities into patient safety friendly hospitals”, said Dr. Zafar Mirza, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health while talking to The News. The National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination officials said the WHO mission comprises WHO Regional Advisor Dr. Letaief Mondher, Dr. Jamal Nasher, Dr. Zulfiqar Khan, Dr. Bassim Zayed, Dr. Donna Forsyth from National Health Services England, Dr. Mathew Neilsen and Ms Afifa Baloch, saying the mission is tasked with identifying gaps of quality, patient safety and Infection Prevention Control within the healthcare system of Pakistan. “They were requested to visit six major hospitals in Pakistan which includes PIMS and Shifa International Hospital Islamabad in the capital, Lahore General Hospital and Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital in Lahore and Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center and Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi”, an official of the federal health ministry said adding they would hold meetings with federal and provincial health authorities before presenting proposals to the government.

Federal health advisor and special assistant to the PM Dr. Zafar Mirza said the international team of experts that include Infection Prevention Control, patient safety and health system management would provide full technical support to the country for launching its flagship Patient Safety Friendly Hospital Initiative at selected hospitals in federal capital and provincial headquarters.

The Pakistani health authorities are already trying to deal with an HIV outbreak in Ratodero taluka of Larkana district in Sindh where so far over 909 people including 746 children were tested positive for the blood-borne lethal disease and a previous WHO mission comprising health experts from four continents of the world have blamed unsafe injection practices and poor infection control at Pakistan’s hospitals and health facilities as the root cause of the HIV outbreak in Larkana.