Shafaqna Pakistan: Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal has said around 1,300 children in Pakistan die every day due to malnutrition, highlighting the severity of the country’s nutritional and healthcare challenges.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Pak Pharma Healthcare Expo, Kamal said companies linked to Pakistan’s healthcare sector were making progress, while pharmaceutical exports grew by 38 per cent last year.
He said no industry could achieve sustainable growth without government support, adding that the prime minister and the government were backing the pharmaceutical sector and providing relief to companies in various areas.
Kamal said the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) had become 85 per cent digital, which he said would help curb corruption within the authority and other relevant institutions. He added that a new system would be introduced on October 9, with effective checks and balances to be maintained on medicines.
Mustafa Kamal said only 22 drug inspectors were working for a population of nearly 250 million, describing it as a major challenge.
The federal health minister also reiterated his demand for the creation of new provinces, saying their establishment was an urgent need of the time. He said Pakistan’s population was around 35 million at the time of independence and the country had four provinces, while the population had now reached around 265 million but the number of provinces remained four.
He said the creation of new provinces would not weaken the country but would make it stronger.
Mustafa Kamal welcomed defence cooperation between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye, saying the credit for the development went to Field Marshal Asim Munir, the prime minister and the deputy prime minister.
He said some disruptive elements were trying to malign the army as part of a deliberate conspiracy. He added that under the leadership of Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Pakistan had defeated a military six times larger than itself.
Source: Dunya News
