Pakistan facing burden of infectious diseases

Muhammad Qasim in the News (Pakistan): Pakistan needs to work out an extraordinary strategy for the challenges ahead in 2011, as it continued to witness double burden of diseases, the infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases, in 2010. According to statistics, Pakistan had not been able to control the burden of communicable diseases like tuberculosis, malaria, dengue fever, typhoid, viral hepatitis, cholera and other infections caused due to floods in 2010, while at the same time there remained a rising trend of non-communicable diseases like heart disease, stroke, diabetes, hypertension and cancer in the country.

Experts do believe that the concerned high-ups in the government should keep in mind the key public health issues of 2010, while developing strategies for the year 2011. Epidemic tobacco use, deadly tuberculosis, the link between social factors and health, unequal access to healthcare, and a rise in chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and cancer in 2010, remained the issues to be resolved not only in Pakistan but also across the globe.

Experts say that though Pakistan put efforts to improve primary healthcare across the country, a lot is yet to be done. Even over 30 years after the Alma-Ata International Conference, striking inequities, and a lack of organization and investment in primary healthcare (in both rich and poor nations) is threat to global health.

Climate change, which continued to endanger health and food safety were among major health issues that needs to be given more attention. Experts say that Pakistan needs to invest a lot on research on most effective measures to protect health from climate change particularly in vulnerable populations such as women, children and elderly in the country….

The main building of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad. shot by Imran.doctor, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication