Failure to honour services of healthcare professionals: Top gastroenterologist returns civil award in protest

KARACHI: Eminent Pakistani gastroenterologist and hepatologist Dr Saad Khalid Niaz has returned his Pakistan Civil Award ‘Tamgha-e-Imtiaz’ back to the Government of Pakistan for its failure to honour services and dedication of the healthcare workers and professionals, many of whom laid down their lives to serve the ailing humanity during the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.

“Today, in a letter to President Dr Arif Alvi, I have returned my Pakistan Civil Award ‘Tamgha-e-Imtiaz’ in protest as the government is not willing to honour the services and efforts of the healthcare fraternity during the Covid-19 pandemic. Over 200 healthcare workers have so far died due to Covid-19 in Pakistan but only two, out of 126 civil award recipients, were doctors this year, which is extremely disappointing,” Dr Saad Khalid Niaz told The News on Thursday.

President Dr Arif Alvi had announced the Pakistan Civil Awards for 126 meritorious people, including foreign nationals, in recognition of their services in different fields of life on August 14, but there were only two medical professionals in the list, whose names were forwarded from Sindh.

In protest, Dr Saad, who was also awarded ‘Sitara-e-Imtiaz’ by former president Asif Ali Zardari in 2013 for his services in the field of advanced gastroenterology, announced to relinquish his civil award, saying, “If the healthcare professionals, workers and scientists who served tirelessly during the pandemic and even sacrificed their lives, are not honoured, I have no other choice left but to return my civil award to the government.”

He maintained that over 200 healthcare professionals, including doctors, paramedics and nurses lost their lives during the last 18 months while serving the Covid-19 patients but nobody cared to recognise their services for the country and the suffering humanity.

He said the civil awards should be conferred on deserving people, adding that there were no more deserving people than the infectious diseases’ experts, pulmonologists, medical scientists and technicians, who had risked their lives by working in highly critical environment and served when even Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) were not available to them.

“I may appear to be the only one taking this extreme step but I’m sure that I’m representing thousands of my colleagues all over the country.” Medical associations, including Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) and Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA), have expressed solidarity with Dr Saad Khalid Niaz and other doctors, who announced to return their awards. The medical associations cautioned if services of the healthcare community were continued to be ignored, it could lead to despair and disappointment among the healthcare professionals.

Talking to The News, PMA and PIMA office-bearers said hundreds of doctors, paramedics and nurses, medical professors, vice chancellors, lab technicians and researchers deserved recognition as they put their lives at stake to treat patients infected with Covid-19 but their selfless efforts were largely ignored by the authorities.

There were gynecologists who operated the Covid-19 positive pregnant women to save their lives along with their babies while risking their own lives,” an office-bearer of the PIMA said. The medical associations urged the federal and provincial governments not only to announce civil awards for the Covid-19 heroes but also announce financial awards for the families of martyred healthcare workers.