Govt in process to develop a coherent national health policy: Info Minister
Bureau Report

KARACHI—The Coalition government has taken the national health policy formulation as one of its top most priorities, said Federal Minister for Information Sherry Rehman, also officiating as Health Minister.
Addressing the concluding session of the day-long seminar on Clinical Research Management in Pakistan here on Saturday night, she said a task force has been constituted for a coherent national health policy and it would be notified in a few days.
The objective, she said, is mainly to mitigate the plight of a large section of people deprived of even basic healthcare facilities.
This task force, she said would be required to start its planning by May and move forward with an integrated approach to build on past successes and also providing health cover for an increasingly impoverished public health sector.
“I am looking for better planning and a coherent health policy that would integrate all sectors and enhance capacities in all health-care spheres,” she said.
The government, Sherry Rehman said instead of sporadic interventions would ensure integrated goals supported by higher resources, better planning and serious investment in research and development.
The Minister acknowledged that global access in the field of clinical research has shifted to Asia, quite prominently to South Asia due to growing share of India and that Pakistan also needs to avail the opportunities.
Sherry Rehman, however, stressed for a better regulatory framework in the country with adequate focus on ethical aspects adding that the government has to be very careful about the rights of patients and ethics involved.
This, she clarified did not mean that the government may be creating hindrances but on the contrary is keen to develop synergy between pharmaceuticals, public health needs, availability of quality services to all and the government’s role.
“Making commitment is important but making a follow-up is also important,” commented the Minister. She said the Ministry of Health was not for adhoc interventions and would adopt a multi-sectoral approach with due collaboration between public and private sectors.
Government, she said was very clear in its policy commitment to encourage investment and provide an enabling environment for the same coupled with an ethical framework.
“We should be building framework with you and not against you,” said the Minister addressing the participants of the seminar including representatives from different countries. The Federal Minister hoped that CROs would be developed and pharmaceuticals would also respect the ethics mentioning that the Government’s role would be to act as mediator as it also has to generate funds for its health programmes. Clearly, there is no reason for Pakistan to be left behind in the field of clinical research management, particularly when India is able to play host by 2010 to nearly one fifth of all medical trials in the world, commented the Minister.
Responding to presentations made by researchers, she agreed that there is need to use the country’s resource base comprising numerous hospitals, large patients volumes and over hundred thousand, English-speaking, physicians who could conduct most complex clinical trials, more productively in a competitive global environment but within a certain framework.
The Minister observed that it was time to also launch the clinical research programme in public sector health institutions with provision for policy frameworks that must integrate interests of both the investigators and patients volunteers.
TDAP Executive Director, Tariq Akram in his welcome address said 20 percent of the world’s GDP was achieved through service sector and in Pakistan more than 55% of its GDP was contributed by the service sector.
Service sector, he said was one of the important parts of economy locally as well as internationally and clinical trial was a major sphere in this very sector.
Steven Bukvic, Prof. Rashid Jooma, Iffat Yazdani and others also addressed the session. Dr. Syed Abdul Mujib representing JPMC signed an agreement with TDAP.