KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said Saturday that his government firmly believes that affordable and high-quality health care is a fundamental privilege of every citizen.
“It is not only ethically and socially imperative but also a necessary ingredient for the sustainable long-term development of our economies and society,” he said while addressing a program organized to celebrate 75 liver transplants by Dow University of Health Sciences at their Ojha campus.
Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was the chief guest on the occasion and Minister Labour Saeed Ghani, Parliamentary Secretary of health Qasim Soomro, and Secretary Health Zulfiqar Shah attended the programme. Mr. Shah said that it is a privilege to stand before our healthcare workers who have worked industriously to provide quality healthcare. He congratulated Dow University of Health Sciences for launching liver transplant services for the people of Sindh.
The CM said that the Sindh government believed that affordable, high-quality health care was a fundamental privilege of every citizen. He added that it was not only ethically and socially imperative but also a necessary ingredient for the sustainable long-term development of our economies and society.
Shah said that the healthcare system’s foremost challenge was providing adequate health coverage and equal access to medical services for all. “When citizens have to pay out of their pockets, they may delay or relinquish necessary treatments and risk becoming impoverished, especially by chronic diseases which require long-term care,” he observed.
Mr. Shah said that liver disease was one of our country’s leading causes of death, and liver transplantation was the only lifesaving treatment option. “Considering the social strata, many patients cannot afford liver transplants due to financial constraints and, eventually, pass away,” he deplored and went on to say the allocation of funds by his government has paved the way for the development of liver transplant programs in the province.
Mr. Shah said that the liver transplant unit at Dow University of Health Sciences has successfully performed 75 transplants with the financial support of the Sindh government. “In the future, more resources and funds would be capitalized to sustain the liver transplant program for the betterment of humanity,” he said.
The chief minister recalled that the Gambat Institute of Health Sciences has successfully performed 500 liver transplants free of cost which is a big success of his government’s services in healthcare. Mr. Shah urged the private sector and the philanthropists to come over and not only donate for liver transplantation but own a patient(s) so that they could be looked after in the post-translation scenario.
Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari speaking on the occasion extended congratulations and best wishes to Dow University of Health Sciences on celebrating the successful establishment of liver transplant services in the city. The chairman said that we can strengthen our healthcare system and improve the delivery of healthcare by joining hands with well-trained human resources; the upbringing of the healthcare system and its successful conveyance to the common man has always been our priority.
Earlier, Chairman PPP inaugurated a new OPD Complex comprising four blocks constructed at a cost of Rs500 million. He also performed the groundbreaking ceremony of the Oncology Unit Foundation and planted a tree. Earlier, Dr. Saad Khalid Niaz delivered a welcome address, Dr. Jahanzeb Haider gave a presentation on the Liver Transplant Experience at DUHS and VC Down University of Health Sciences Prof Dr. Saeed Qureshi welcomed the guests and shared the success story of Down University Health Sciences.