LAHORE: The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Pakistan, Dr Palitha Gunarathna Mahipala, says the country faces a human resource crisis in the health sector as the available resources in the sector can meet only one-tenth of the country’s requirement.

Addressing the senior faculty during his visit to the University of Health Sciences (UHS) on Monday, Dr Mahipala said Pakistan immediately needed 200,000 nurses. He called on the country to take steps to enhance its health workforce.

“No healthcare system can deliver quality care without the input of trained, committed professionals, including quality doctors and nurses,” he opined.

The WHO head said the UHS was a great institution and its focus on primary healthcare by strengthening family medicine was particularly commendable. He advised the university administration to prepare a five-year plan for the development of its programmes and assured it that the WHO support in this regard.

Dr Palitha Mahipala further said that all the focus was on universal health coverage and added that the target of universal health coverage in Pakistan was 60pc by 2030. He added that primary care was the most comprehensive healthcare but it should not be limited to providing a few medicines to the patients. While commending the UHS role in medical education, Dr Mahipala said it might be considered to be a WHO Collaborating Centre in the future.

UHS VC Professor Ahsan Waheed Rathore while giving a presentation on the university’s functions and achievements said 110 postgraduate and 26 undergraduate programmes were being run by the UHS. He said the country was facing a shortage of nurses and allied health professionals and the university was paying special attention to the issue by launching undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in the disciplines. He added that the university’s performance in research had been remarkable, which was evident from its h-index of 30.5. He added that a research coordination centre had been established to bring all research activities under one roof. He highlighted the university’s recent reforms in the curriculum and evaluation system.

WHO Punjab chief Dr Jamshed Ahmed, UHS Registrar Dr Asad Zaheer and senior faculty members were present in the meeting. On the occasion, Dr Mahipala was appointed as an adjunct faculty of the university.

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2022