Pictorial Editorial: Healthcare system in Rawalpindi

The cost of a broken healthcare system

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has no means to get dental treatment and the only option left for relieving the constant toothache is with the street quake, which charges a very nominal amount for tooth extraction.

Her unfathomable trust in the quake, despite the government campaigns, demonstrates that healthcare, as prompted by the government, exists only in slogans.

The roadside quakes, which are frequently arrested and put behind bars, are the root cause of hepatitis and AIDS, but they continue to thrive in the ‘land of the pure’ knowing that greasing the palms will work wonders, and their business will thrive as long as the sun shines.

According to official data cited by health authorities in the federal capital, 9,773 people in Pakistan tested positive for HIV during the last 10 months of 2022, casting serious doubt on HIV prevention and control efforts as well as clearly showing the spread of HIV from key populations to the general public.

The statistics are horrifying but there is nothing in sight to curb the diseases that are on the rise owing to these quakes. The common safety, such as clean tools for the job, does not exist and those who are supposed to take action simply draw their salaries with the attitude ‘why bother’.

Toothache can happen at any time and mostly people suffer from it in their old age. It is not that they have forgotten their teeth; as time progresses, the teeth and human body also suffer wear and tear, which in the later years can cause unbearable pain.

Dental care is expensive but simple tooth extraction on one particular day for the old age pensioners or one or two specified hours for the elderly and the ailing can be introduced in government hospitals for care.

A dream is shown to the entire Pakistan of free healthcare and education, but the results speak volumes about what is accomplished. Pakistan spends less than one per cent of its GDP to healthcare and has a fragile health system. The health sector is in dire need of enhanced budget allocation.

The nation, as per fudged figures, shows health care for all but does it exist? The figures show free education for the young generation but has it stopped the ‘chota’ (minor) for working in a workshop, hotel, or for that matter, picking up trash.

The policy makers need to sit down and think:where are they taking Pakistan?Is this what the commoner will be met with, or is there a lot more in the offing, like ‘no healthcare in sight’?

Figure: Pakistan’s federal budget allocation towards health sectorSource: Economy & Federal Budget: FY21-22 Highlights, Al Baraka.

The writer is a journalist based in Islamabad and writes on a wide range of issues.

Photo by Khurram Butt