We have always been told about the horrors of Warfare when one is stuck between bombarding and marauding armies.We are often told about those of isolation when one is stranded off some island in the middle of the Pacific and then also about the dread of being left astray in the dessicated hell of Saharan Africa.
A voice inside me asked me if our lives here in Pakistan are better than the war stricken Afghan, Somalian, Iraqi, Rwandan cities? Better than Saharan and sub saharan african countries so badly struck with famine and disease and civil war? Better than the far off islanders' lives??
The Patriotic subconscious Reply : Of course not....
But what is the delineating factor?
The answer can be the mortality rates among children as they are often seen as a proxy for the level of social development in a country, since they reflect the level of nutrition, parents’ education, and above all access to health services...!!!
So here is the deal and we will let the figures of mortality rate among children give us the answer of our question.
In the coldest countries in the world Norway and Sweden,2 children out of 1000 live births could not reach their 5th birthday. These were 160/1000 half a century back.
For USA, despite its highest crime rate, its 6/1000
For our neighbouring Oman (where they strap children over camels for the camel racing, as we r told) its 10/1000 children die before reaching 5
Our zealous religious states of Saudia and Iran stand at 13/1000
Among the Sub Continent states; Small Island Nation of Maldives,ace South Asia at 7/1000
While Bhutan and Nepal at 26 and 29 per thousand
As no comparison of ours is compelte without comapring it with India so India is at 38/1000
And in far off pacific islands like Tonga is 15/1000
While the War Torn Iraq stands at 27/1000 despite war and disease.So is Afghanistan at 66!!!
While the Sub Saharan countries are as follows:
Rwanda .........31
Namibia..........33
Eritrea ............34
Tanzania........ 35
Uganda...........38
Ethiopia ..........41
Senegal ..........42
Ghana .............43
Mozambique ..57
Mauritania..... 60
Only the War torn regions have a grimer picture than Sub Saharan Africa
Afghanistan ......66
South Sudan ......67
Mali....................75
Somalia .............85 /1000 live births never live to reach 5!!
Ever wondered what are the stats ofour country? Well... Its 88 /1000 meaning worse than Somalia and Afghanistan and twice worse than the "metaphors of famine & Hunger" taught to us i.e. Ethiopia and Rwanda
Now who is to be blamed?Govt?Bureaucracy?Doctors?A Young Doctor who came into practical field not more than a year or two ago?Or the Ruling Sharif Oligarchy that has been ruling us for more than a quarter Century?All through the last few yrs ,Punjab Govt had been telling the people that we r coming up with solutions .Half paper ads on tax payers money and lengthy ads on electronic media tried to make people believe that Govt is serious about health.However on ground situation is that only 38% of the alloted health budget was spent in year 2015-2016.And the solution they have come up with is that eery year the Glorious Province of Punjab ( with an 18yr or younger population of 50 Million) will train 56 pediatricians only .I hadheard of a Million Dollar Baby but its the First time i will hear about a "Million Baby Pediatrician"!!!!
And how many of our kin die of trauma? Its mortality is comparable to deaths due to Cardiovascular issues and Cancer deaths? But only four dozen Doctors will be given opportunity to become orthopedic Surgeons and none will be allowed to become Facio-Maxillary surgeons nor dental ones despite 400 dentistry graduates have passed the exam and are waiting for two years in pipeline to be allowed to enter the training.May be its because our motorbike helmets are made of unbreakable Adamantium of Wolverine and our population neither has oral cancer nor dental caries like the Targyrean descendants.Then maybe the govt should shutdown the Dental colleges like De Montemorency and Nishter and Fsd too!
And then despite the ever rising cancer deaths, there is not a single govt institute which is fit for cancer treatment..Govt centres are only filled by the rejectees of Shaukat Khanum or Agha Khan Hospitals (both patients and Doctors) and our beloved Secretary Health is Not allowing a single Dr to become an Oncologist (Cancer specialist) in the year 2016....!!!
My question is....
Do we have enough trauma surgeons, cancer specialists and pediatricians that we have put a bar on the recruitment of new trainees in these fields? Is our province teeming with consultants so that our health department has squeezed down the Post Graduation training seats to a mere 1200/year for more than 3500aspirants?In present circumstances where there is extreme shortage of Specialists due to brain drain and extremely low number of teaching hospitals in Lahore,I wonder what Punjab Govt is thinking by taking such steps that will only result in further chaos in health sector.
MY QUESTION to Punjab Govt ;
HAs Milk & Honey started flowing in the Hospitals of Punjab? Is the life Honey & Butter for patients in Punjab!? If yes, then shut down the med schools so that new Doctors are not brought into the system. If no then take the steps like opening new quality teaching hospitals, try to encourage more and more doctors to become specialists rather than discouraging them under “central corrupt induction”,improve the working conditions of doctors and hospital staff and most importantly spend more and more on patient care because it is painful to see thousands and thousands of patients suffering in Govt hospitals with nothing but hopelessness and despair in their eyes.
About the writer::
Dr Shehryar Khan Niazi is a King Edward Medical University graduate and is presently a post graduate resident doing his specialization in Surgery at West Surgery Unit, Mayo Hospital, Lahore.
by webmaster@insaf.pk (tkiadmin)
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