April 26, 2020
The Imran Khan Government has launched a new initiative to encourage Pakistani expatriate health professionals’ voluntary participation toward improvement in the key health area, currently on the forefront of the fight against coronavirus.
Named Pakistan Diaspora Health Initiative (PHDI) and co-titled ‘Yaran-e-Watan’ in Urdu language, the program will connect overseas Pakistani professional with volunteer opportunities in their homeland so that they can help with expertise and research.
“Yaran-e-Watan [is] an initiative for our overseas health professionals who can now register to volunteer their services,” Prime Minister Imran Khan said in a Twitter message.
He said that that Pakistani health professionals are on the frontline in the fight against Covid-19 across the world. They also want to help combat the pandemic in Pakistan as well, the Khan added.
Pakistani health professionals are on the frontline in the fight against #COVID19 across the world. They also want to help us combat COVID19 in Pak. We have launched @YaranWatan iniitiative for our overseas health professionals who can now register to volunteer their services. pic.twitter.com/O0MkyDMNDs
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) April 25, 2020
The overseas Pakistani health professionals would be able to share their expertise via tele-training sessions, telemedicine for triage and counselling, public health and research collaborations.
Khan noted that the entire world is facing drastic consequences of the novel coronavirus and urged the nation to help those in need by demonstrating complete unity and sacrifice.
In a series of tweets, the premier said the nation has neglected the poor and vulnerable in society and urged Pakistanis to use the holy month to seek forgiveness for neglecting the poor.
A collaborative venture of the Ministry of National Health Services, and the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development, the IT-enabled platform has been operationalized with support from the International Migration Organization, the World Health Organization, and the National Information Board of Technology.
Pakistan’s annual allocations for health sector are far below the demands of its large population and WHO has counted Pakistan among 57 countries that have a critical health workforce deficiency.
The South Asian country of over 200 million population needs an estimated 0.4 million doctors, 0.2 million dentists, and 1.6 million nurses to meet the population’s health needs.According to a report, four in 10 Pakistanis have inadequate access to healthcare, and physician demand is expected to grow by 17% by 2025.
Islamabad also faces a continuing brain drain challenge in the health sector as an estimated 1,700 Pakistani physicians proceed abroad every year from the practicing physician pool.
Of these 1,150 doctors immigrate to other countries.
Pakistan has been one of the largest suppliers of doctors to the United States, where they reportedly Pakistani-American doctors number between 15,000 and 20,000, and are highly regarded for their professional services and expertise.
In the current scenario, Pakistani-American healthcare professionals including doctors and nurses have won praise for their services during the ongoing battle against COVID-19. Their experience could also be helpful for the country where health care system faces pressures in terms of conducting tests and treating the patients.
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CoronavirusCoronavirus OutbreakCOVID-19Imran KhanMedicalMedical ResearchPakistani AmericanPakistani Americans
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