Burden of disease on our fragile health system could significantly be reduced by adopting preventive health care system: President Alvi
ISLAMABAD, Oct 11 (SABAH): President Dr. Arif Alvi has said that the burden of disease on our fragile health system could significantly be reduced by adopting the preventive health care system against communicable and non-communicable diseases by promoting a healthy lifestyle, regular exercise, observing cleanliness and enlarging our diet spread which, he said, would reduce the burden on the curative health system as well as on the patients.
President Dr. Arif Alvi made these remarks while addressing the convocation ceremony of Foundation University College of Dentistry, in Islamabad on Tuesday. The ceremony was attended by the faculty members, graduating students and their parents in large numbers.
Addressing the ceremony, the President stressed the importance of creating awareness about the early detection of illness and disease, promoting preventive means to avoid disease by adopting a healthy lifestyle and by treating their patients with the utmost care, kindness and compassion which, he said, made a huge difference in reassuring the patients and resolving their health issues. He emphasized that oral ailments could be significantly decreased by just educating the masses on the importance of practising oral hygiene and oral healthcare. He said that maintenance of healthy teeth throughout life would prevent contracting other diseases as well and enable people to lead happy and healthy life.
President Dr. Arif Alvi regretted that almost 50 per cent of females leave the medical profession either after or before marriage which was a huge loss to the country and society. He called for steps to reverse this trend and urged the parents to support their daughters towards continuing their profession. He emphasized that Government must take steps to provide a secure and enabling environment and create opportunities for them to perform their official duties online or on flexible timings and schedules to enable them to work and raise their families comfortably.
President Dr. Arif Alvi said that there was a need to reduce the stress level in society by educating the masses regarding handling and avoiding fake news, respecting the privacy of individuals, and portraying the messages and the statements in their true context. He said that statements and sentences quoted out of reference and context add to the confusion and anxiety in society and, therefore, should be handled effectively.
The President congratulated the young graduates on the start of their professional life and advised them to keep pursuing knowledge and be humble in their personal and professional lives. He also urged all medical professionals to treat their patients with empathy as they were part of a noble profession whose primary duty was to reduce the suffering of mankind.
Earlier, the President gave away medals and certificates to distinguished graduates. Major General (retd) Dr Imran Fazal, Director, Foundation University School of Health Sciences, presented the annual report of the university.
Meanwhile President Dr. Arif Alvi has urged the need to further cement bilateral ties between Pakistan and Maldives in all fields of mutual interest, especially in the education, health and tourism sectors.
President Dr. Arif Alvi said this while talking to Pakistan’s High Commissioner-designate to the Maldives, Vice Admiral (retd) Muhammad Fayyaz Gilani, who called on him at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Tuesday. The President advised the envoy-designate to especially focus on establishing strategic ties with the Maldives in sectors such as trade, business and investment, people-to-people contacts, cooperation in health, education, human resource development as well as in the fields of defence, climate change and tourism.
President Dr. Arif Alvi highlighted the potential of cooperation in the tourism industry between the two countries as the Maldives was a world-class tourism destination and Pakistan could benefit from its expertise. The President said that Pakistan can offer the distance learning and hybrid learning and education expertise of Allama Iqbal Open University and the Virtual University of Pakistan for imparting competitive and high-quality education in various educational disciplines to the Maldivian students.
The President expressed his satisfaction with the existing cordial relations and hoped that the newly appointed High Commissioner would effectively utilize all available diplomatic mechanisms, including the Bilateral Political Consultations (BPC), Joint Economic Commission, and Joint Business Councils, to increase bilateral engagements between the two countries as well as cooperation within the framework of SARRC, OIC, UN and Commonwealth. The President also asked the envoy to convey his greetings and best wishes to the President of Maldives, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.