Pakistan donates Rs25m worth medicines, equipment to Afghanistan

Karachi: On the request from Public Health Ministry of Afghanistan, Pakistani pharmaceutical companies in Karachi Saturday dispatched the first consignment of medicines and medical equipment to Islamabad, which would be handed over to Afghan health delegation next week, officials said. “Today we are dispatching the first consignment of medicines and equipment worth Rs25 million to Afghanistan via Islamabad. This consignment would be part of Rs100 million medicines and equipment to be donated to Afghanistan by the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA)”, Atif Iqbal, Vice Chairman of the PPMA told The News in Karachi.

The Public Health Minister of Taliban-led government of Afghanistan Dr Qalandar Ebad had requested the PPMA on November 26, 2021 to donate medicines and medical equipment for hospitals in Afghanistan and handed over a list of 170 medicines and medical equipment to keep the public hospitals in the war-ravaged country functional.

Accompanied by other members of PPMA including Nadir Khan, Kairser Waheed and Ghulam Hashim Noorani from the Pakistan Chemists and Druggists Association (PCDA), Atif Iqbal who is the Managing Director of local pharmaceutical firm High-Q, said initially 10 leading pharmaceutical companies from Karachi have donated the medicines for the first consignment to Afghanistan. “This consignment contains anti-biotics, painkillers, medicines for the treatment of diseases of women and children, those used in the Intensive Care Units and equipment that are widely used in the secondary and tertiary-care hospital settings”, Atif Iqbal said, adding that they have also donated 400 wheel chairs, which are being dispatched to Afghanistan.

According to him, Searle Pharmaceutical have donated medicines and equipment worth 10 million, followed by High-Q which donated medicines worth 6.5 million, Pharmevo donated medicines worth 2.5 million, Maxitec Pharma donated medicines worth 2.2 million.

“Other pharmaceutical companies which donated the medicines and medical equipment include Mafins Pharma, Ophth Pharma, ICI Pakistan Limited, Mediflow Pharmaceuticals, Bosch Pharmaceuticals and Herbion Pakistan”, Atif Iqbal said. He said that some leading national and multinational companies have decided to send the medicines directly to their contacts in Afghanistan as they already had links in the war-ravaged country.

Vice Chancellor, Health Services Academy (HSA), who is supervising Pakistan’s health assistance to Afghanistan, welcomed the support from Pakistani drug manufacturers to Afghan brethren in need of healthcare and added that Pakistan was already doing a lot to help people of Afghanistan in the area of health and nutrition.

“Pakistan has recently established three hospitals in Afghanistan including one each in Kabul, Jalalabad and Logar, which we are going to make functional within a couple of weeks. Prime Minister Imran Khan has announced provision of Rs5 billion to Afghanistan, which would mainly be used for purchase of medicines and food for the Afghan people”, he added.

He said Pakistani authorities were also planning for the construction of a modern health facility on Afghan border near Torkham to facilitate a large number of patients from Afghanistan while number of doctors posted at the border crossings between two countries was being enhanced to facilitate a large number of patients from the war-torn country.

“Afghan health authorities have also requested us to train their technicians, paramedics and nurses and to make their diagnostic facilities functional”, he said and added that federal healthcare institutions and facilities on the directives from Special Assistant to PM on Health Dr Faisal Sultan are ready to train Afghan healthcare workers and professionals.