Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal has said that there is currently no local production of vaccines in Pakistan. However, after the Pakistan India war, when India stopped the supply of vaccines, Pakistan decided to produce its own vaccines.
Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal said that if the government does not purchase vaccines, the situation will become alarming and patients will be forced onto sidewalks. He said that with the help of China and other countries, Pakistan will start producing its own vaccines within the next two years and will also export vaccines.
Addressing a ceremony in Karachi, the federal health minister said that healthcare does not only mean treating patients but preventing people from falling ill. He said that healthcare begins from the birth of a child and that treating diseases alone is not healthcare.
He said that 13 million people in Pakistan are hepatitis patients and every year around 10,000 cases are reported in which 400 pregnant women die.
He said that the local government system in Pakistan is ineffective, there is no focus on treating sewage water, and even in real estate housing schemes, sewage treatment systems are ignored. He said the entire ecosystem of the country has become a factory for making people ill.
The federal health minister said that doubts are also created about vaccinating children, some people consider it a conspiracy and speak against polio drops, whereas disease prevention is real healthcare.
He said that he receives daily calls to arrange beds in private hospitals, while the real need is to make arrangements to prevent people from falling ill. He said that a doctor who sees 30 to 35 patients is forced to see 350 patients in Pakistan.
The federal health minister revealed that there is currently no local vaccine production in Pakistan and foreign funding is decreasing every year. He said that the price of a vaccine is currently five US dollars and by 2030 the Pakistani government will have to spend 1.2 billion dollars on vaccines.
Mustafa Kamal said that a time will come when the nation will celebrate thinking that children will no longer need drops, but if the government does not buy vaccines, the situation will become extremely alarming and patients will come onto sidewalks.
He said that after the Pakistan India war, India stopped supplying vaccines to Pakistan, after which Pakistan decided to produce its own vaccines.
According to the federal health minister, with the cooperation of China and other countries, vaccine production will begin in Pakistan within the next two years, and there are also plans to export vaccines in the future.
He said that Pakistan is facing a shortage of 900,000 nurses, while the world needs 2.5 million nurses.
