Old diseases, old problems
By Muhammad Hamid Zaman

Pakistan lately seems to have become the birthplace of old diseases. Many countries with a lower GDP than ours have managed, controlled and, in many cases, eradicated these ancient killers from their borders. The most recent “born-again” story is that of measles. Vulnerable children across Pakistan are teetering on the border between life and death due to negligence, incompetence and complacency of key stakeholders and guardians of public health. Estimates put the number of children with measles since the beginning of 2013 alone, to be upward of 25,000. The WHO statistics now put Pakistan among the top five countries with the highest number of unvaccinated children. Parts of the country have vaccination coverage that would be reflective of the days before vaccines were discovered. Perhaps, worst of all, there are consistent and frequent reports of fake and substandard vaccines and medicines being used in clinics and hospitals. The custodians of health are serving the future of the country a deadly cocktail of death and morbidity.
The challenges facing the incoming government, at the centre and in the provinces, are many and surely multifaceted. For many of these, the solutions are complex and sometimes even elusive. Yet, there are other problems that continue to crack the foundations of a healthy society, for which we know the solutions. The remedies are tried and tested and do not require moving mountains or political manoeuvring. All they require is the will, determination and integrity. The problem of counterfeit, falsified and substandard drugs and vaccines in the country has put Pakistan in an unflattering leadership position of countries with high prevalence of poor quality medicines. Amidst the news of meetings in drawing rooms with exotic artefacts, we rarely hear about the crises in the inadequately hospitals for the poor, where the drugs help accelerate the already fast moving journey to the hereafter.

Just like measles or polio, the problem of spurious drugs is not particularly new. In the last year alone, the number of deaths due to fake drugs in Pakistan has been in high hundreds. Countless individual cases are unreported. Each time, as we forget the last incident, there is a new one to remind us of the underlying problem. Sometimes we blame it on the pharmacies, sometimes on the manufacturers and best of all, sometimes on the patients themselves. Yet, it has never occurred to us that maybe better regulation and a better quality control strategy by the government will help. Since “change” seems to be a popular slogan these days, let me jump on that bandwagon, too. How about, for a change, forcing the government to create a transparent task force to solve this problem? Engaging public health professionals, pharmacists, scientists, doctors, policymakers and, above all, innovators will not only ensure that we find affordable, tangible and sustainable solutions, it will also change the way we operate and create a precedence for us to take responsibility of our ills.
The social, electronic and print media is abuzz, as it should be, with condemnation of violence during and post elections. The tragic loss of life in our towns is disgusting and shameful. But the call for action should not stop at only the political violence. We need to end the cycle of violence of not only those who die of a murderer’s bullet, but also those who die of murderous negligence and heinous incompetence in our health system.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 23rd, 2013.