Murad vows to develop new cancer cure centers for children

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah while speaking at the 4th Pakistan Society of pediatric Oncology (PSPO) ceremony for  the cause of improving outcome of childhood cancer in Pakistan at a local hotel on Friday.Sindh Chief Minister said that lack of infrastructure for sick children in the country, the outcomes of children with cancer being cured was dismal at 25-30 per cent compared to 80-85 per cent with the developed world.Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali said that globally the outcomes of childhood cancers have improved dramatically. He added that in Pakistan there were 8000-10000 new cases of childhood cancers for which there were 13 centers in Pakistan with limited number of trained doctors and nursing staff to take care of these patients. “As a result of lack of infrastructure in place for these sick children, the outcomes of children with cancer are being cured is dismal at 25-30 per cent compared to 80-85 per cent with the developed world,” he said. The chief minister said that this has been recognised at the international level by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an alarming issue. “They have started the WHO Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer –with the aim of reaching, at least, a 60 per cent worldwide survival rate for children with cancer by 2030, thereby saving an additional one million lives worldwide,” he said. Murad Ali Shah said that his presence at the inaugural ceremony was to validate his resolve of improving health of all Pakistani Children. “We at the national level want to affirm our support towards endeavors of curing childhood cancer,” he said and added “we fully support the Pakistan Society of Pediatric Oncology’s (PSPO) partnership with WHO in improving the outcomes and saving lives of children with cancers”. He said that he wanted to encourage Public-private partnership where government support was available to organisations dedicated towards improving health. “This government has always been invested in creating bridges and liaisons with institutions and organisations committed to developing healthcare infrastructure,” he said and added “it is in everyone’s best interest to have healthy children as they are the greatest asset any country can have”.He said that he was happy to start this public-private relationship and see it grow and develop. “It is our commitment and gift to our future generations,” he said. Shah said that he had already decided to establish Child Cancer Cure centres at Sukkur and Hyderabad. “We are in depth consultation with the experts for exact location of such centers and their establishment would be announced in the next budget,” he said.The Chief Minister said that he wants Pakistan to be identified as a nation of resilience and strength. “Despite being a developing nation, we will overcome the obstacles in improving the health of not only children with cancers but all Pakistani children,” he concluded.On the occasion, chief secretary Mumtaz Shah also spoke.

from The News International - National https://ift.tt/2XEKZqm

• Tweet
• Share
• Share
• Share
• Share