KARACHI, Dec 27: Experts at the second annual symposium of the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) on Tuesday stressed strengthening the role of the public sector in the healthcare delivery system. The symposium on the theme of “Changing Priorities: Journey from Curative to Preventive Medicine” was inaugurated by Prof Adibul Hasan Rizvi at the Khwaja Moin Auditorium.

In this regard, he highlighted the role played by the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) for the welfare of patients irrespective of their religion, cast or creed for the past many years.

Later in his lecture on “SUIT and Renal Support in Earthquake”, Prof Rizvi presented a summary of his team’s role in the relief operations soon after the quake struck northern Pakistan on Oct 8, 2005.

He said that his team moved towards the quake-hit areas within eight to 10 hours because they had developed a contingency plan for meeting disasters after the tsunami that hit Asia.

Speaking about the “crush syndrome”, Prof Rizvi pointed out that there was total lack of coordination following the disaster. “We could see people in traumatic conditions with broken limbs, etc, but did not know what was happening inside them.”

Unfolding his future commitments, he said his institution had plans to set up a dialysis centre in Muzaffarabad, adding that 12 machines had been acquired and they were waiting for a green signal to get a place in Muzaffarabad for their installation.

Prof S.M. Rab, in his thought-provoking presentation, called upon all physicians to realize their responsibilities towards the people exposed to poverty, illiteracy and a wide range of preventable ailments. He spoke in detail on medical ethics and about the role played by physicians with reference to common medical problems in a given population.

He lamented that a large number of doctors were unmindful of the financial situation of people belonging to the lower income group. “They (these doctors) prescribe medicines worth several hundreds of rupees for diseases that can be easily treated with medicines available at cheaper rates.”

Speaking on “Religion and Health”, Navid Ahmed said the Holy Quran is book of guidance. “It is not a book of science or medicine, but a Book of Guidance.”

Starting with the importance of ones personal cleanliness, he read out verses from the Quran that say: “Allah loves those who repent and keep clean,” and “Keep your garments clean and keep yourself away from uncleanness.”

He also explained in detail other guidelines such as zikr for spiritual health, charity, patience in calamities, hygienic nutrition, and moderation in eating, and asked the audience to follow these guidelines in letter and spirit.

Speaking on “Health Policy and Health Reforms in Pakistan”, Dr Sania Nishter said the configuration of every health reform should be outcome-oriented.

While underscoring the need for developing consensus on priorities, she deliberated on the role of the state and private sector in the health delivery system.

Terming the role played by non-profit NGOs as important, she stressed the need for an inter-sectoral scope through water, sanitation and social determents, etc, at the oligarchy level. “It is absolutely useless to talk about health reforms without discussing social services,” she said.

Earlier, Prof Jawed Alam, in his welcome address, thanked the participating delegations. He also thanked Prof Adibul Hasan Rizvi and his selfless services rendered at the SUIT.

Prof Masood Hameed Khan, Vice-Chancellor of the DUHS highlighted the varsity’s history and various works carried out there. He termed the varsity’s examination department its strongest area.

Later, experts participating in the Sarwar Zuberi Memorial Lecture on “Disaster Management: From Preparedness to Implementation” spoke on various aspects of the topic.

Prof Musarrat Hussain, in his address, said natural and manmade disasters in the shape of war, storms, earthquakes, etc inflicted trauma on human beings.

He spoke in detail about various important factors such as psychiatry support, management plan, function of medical teams, and curriculum development towards better disaster management and preparedness.

Prof Rashid Jooma in his presentation on “Training of Medical and Paramedical Staff in Primary Trauma” recalled the devastation caused by the Oct 8 earthquake. He said: “There has to be a lot of soul-searching. We need to improve our emergency services.”

Faisal Edhi of the Edhi Trust gave an account of their work in the quake-hit areas. He said they had a staff of 40 personnel, who had undergone training in the ward of Prof Tipu Sultan at the Civil Hospital Karachi.

Given the disaster’s enormity, he added, that the number of these trained relief workers turned out to be very small. He gave a number of proposals for making disaster management plans.

A traffic police officer, Saud Mirza, while speaking on the “Role of Police in Disaster Management” said that since 9/11, the role of law enforcement agencies across the world had been quite central to disaster management.

While spelling out various disaster management strategies, he said these included preventing or reducing the risk of disaster, promoting, preserving public order, preventing and detecting crime, assisting inter-agencies cooperation, and evacuating victims for medial aid.

He said other steps included management of traffic and establishment of command and control.

Former Sindh Governor Moinuddin Haider said the Oct 8 quake had brought many lessons for the entire nation. He said Fatimid was the largest blood collecting body from among the NGOs.

He said that a number of well-known NGOs such as APWA and Red Crescent seemed to have lost their direction and they were needed to be reactivated for the benefit of people.

Mati Ridma of Estonia, chairperson of the session, in his remarks spoke on his experiences in Pakistan and cooperation with international organizations and international support. He also focused on the role of the Estonian disaster relief team. —PPI