President Dr Arif Alvi has called for introducing massive changes to the present practice of frequent use of anti-microbial agents in human, animal and environmental sectors.
He said that the unnecessary use of antibiotics posed serious health challenges requiring the change of attitude by medical practitioners and society as a whole. He added that the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic had further highlighted the issue of rising antibiotic resistance. He expressed these views during a meeting with a delegation of Fleming Fund Grant, led by the British High Commissioner to Pakistan, Dr Christian Turner, which called on the president at Aiwan-e-Sadr.
While talking to the delegation, the president said that Pakistan was currently struggling to deal with several drug-resistant epidemics. He informed that the Government of Pakistan, including all Provincial Health and Livestock Departments, were committed to play their role in global disease control program and stand by the global community in the effort to reduce anti-microbial resistance (AMR) burden.
The delegation gave a presentation to highlight the contributions and support, made by Fleming Fund, in strengthening Pakistan’s health system’s capacities through Improved Integrated Disease Surveillance Programs. The delegation briefed that AMR posed a grave threat to human lives as 10 Million people could die every year globally from drug-resistant infections, with 90% of these deaths would occur in Africa and Asia. The delegation apprised that Fleming Fund had conducted assessments of 25 national and provincial laboratories in Pakistan to strengthen their microbiology capacities. The delegation further briefed that the Fund had been working extensively to improve provincial level capacities in monitoring and managing AMR, including anti-microbial usage.
The President appreciated the efforts and financial support worth £9 Million provided by the Fund to Pakistan to address the threat of AMR.
Meanwhile, Dr Arif Alvi has said that Prime Minister’s low-cost housing scheme would enormously benefit the underprivileged community of the country. He said that the scheme would not only generate economic activities but would also provide houses to the low strata of society at affordable cost. He stated this at a briefing, given by the Chairman/ Executive Director Akhuwat, Dr Muhammad Amjad Saqib, at Aiwan-e-Sadr.
Dr Muhammad Amjad Saqib briefed the meeting about the progress made by Akhuwat Islamic Microfinance with regard to construction of low-cost houses. He informed that 7,572 houses had been financed by Akhuwat and the recovery rate of loans is 99.9%. He said that the Government of Pakistan had allocated Rs. 5 Billion through Ministry of Housing and Works to Akhuwat Islamic Microfinance which had disbursed Rs. 3.37 Billion so far.
The President appreciated the efforts of the Government and Akhuwat in financing housing schemes for lower strata of society. He asked the Ministry of Housing and Works to disseminate information about the benefits of the scheme so that maximum people could get advantage of it.
Also, Dr Arif Alvi underlined the need for developing a national communication strategy to create awareness among people about drug abuse and mental health. He said that priority should be given to eradication of drugs from society so as to save our young generation from this menace. He made these remarks while chairing a meeting on drug abuse and mental health, at Aiwan-e-Sadr, today.
The President was briefed about the prevalence of drugs in Pakistan which posed threat to the physical and mental health of youth, particularly the students of colleges and universities. In order to cope with the challenge of drug abuse in the country, the President emphasised the need for crafting a basic framework with the help of volunteers, teachers, parents and other relevant stakeholders. He stated that media and educational institutions could play a vital role in creating awareness regarding drug abuse and mental health by organizing seminars and debates. He highlighted that the role of society, particularly parents and teachers, was very important to discourage drug abuse among our youth.
