Health Crisis Pakistan

There should be a growing concern over Pakistan’s health crisis. Yet, our priorities are elsewhere. Health is heavily neglected in many parts of the country. Our life expectancy is just a little bit over 67 whereas Iran’s is 78, India’s is close to 70 and Bangladesh’s is close to 73. We are only a little better than Afghanistan where the life expectancy is roughly 65 (World Bank Database). However, this last comparison is truly nothing to be proud of as our life expectancy is the second worst in the region. Also Afghanistan is torn by war whereas we are not. So, what is our excuse for the neglect of our health anyway? These grim figures should be a cause of alarm for anybody who is truly concerned. As life expectancy globally has increased, Pakistan has even failed to keep up with her neighbours.

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There are a variety of reasons that determine life expectancy in a certain country. As anyone can expect, healthcare, food security, lifestyle, culture, economic factors, education, etc. play a large role in determining life expectancy. As for Pakistan’s abysmally poor life expectancy, there are multiple factors at play. These are malnutrition, infant and mother mortality, poor lifestyle choices and pestilence.

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As of 2018, there are at least 21.9% of Pakistanis living below the poverty line (Asian Development Bank). Of course, this number has most likely increased, especially so after the inflation bomb which has detonated. This ‘inflation bomb’ has dragged the rate of inflation to well over a staggering 42% (Dawn News). Furthermore, the unemployment rate has jumped up to 6.5%. This only makes the situation far worse (Trading Economics).

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Poor economic factors and a critical failure of healthcare institutions mean that many Pakistanis do not have access to proper healthcare. This greatly shortens life expectancy as many locals can not survive curable conditions. As a matter of fact, countless rural areas do not have any access to healthcare at all. In many cases, a trip to the hospital can last hours on a donkey cart because these areas are especially deprived of the most basic facilities. The situation of public hospitals is also terrifying. The medical staff and practice in those hospitals is not up to standard. Thus, medical neglect is painfully commonplace. Many times, hospitals lack the proper resources to treat patients. (Express Tribune). According to statistics cited by Express Tribune, there is a colossal shortage of hospitals for treating patients. Additionally, medical workers are far too underpaid and fall victim to terrorism. Negligible healthcare is a major issue behind the low life expectancy figures. Usually, the primary path to increasing life expectancy is building the solid healthcare facilities, competently implementing healthcare policies and by fulfilling the basic needs of the masses. Sadly, nothing of the sort is being done as the Pakistani government hardly spends 1% of its GDP on healthcare as stated by Al-Jazeera. Life expectancy can not improve if nothing is being done to improve healthcare.

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Moving onto infant and mother mortality, this is a highly serious concern for Pakistan. Out of every 1,000 infants born, about 65 fail to make it past the age of 5. In total, that is at least 389,182 infants who are deprived of life (UNICEF). This means infant mortality in Pakistan is one of the highest in the world. According to the same UNICEF report, the children who do make it past 5 years of age usually lack sufficient?facilities, whether it is nutrition, clean drinking water or education. As depressing as it sounds, the state is too busy in its own mellow drama to care about its children who are tomorrow’s generation.

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Furthermore, maternal mortality is also another severe concern for the healthcare department. As per the same UNICEF report earlier, 140 mothers per every 100,000 births do not survive child birth. Out of the total births, only 68% of women who give birth are tended to by skilled medical staff. In a country where health is so unimportant that it does not even deserve a 1% of the country’s GDP, health can not possibly improve. Thus, the people continue to suffer due to grossly negligent management. The nearly non-existent policy and unaware policy makers make matters even worse.

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Polio continues to glare at us menacingly. Pakistan is one of the two countries which suffers from polio despite the vaccine being readily available globally. The other country where polio is rampant is Pakistan’s neighbour, Afghanistan. Nigeria has recently punched out polio (and hopefully for good). As per the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, only 17 cases remain in Pakistan. While that might seem like a minuscule number, the real figures may be drastically different from what is actually reported. According to Al-Jazeera, a polio worker is given insufficient pay and highly inadequate remuneration for their services to the people of Pakistan. A polio worker is only paid $1.70 for their hard work. Such is the worth of their lives where attacks on polio workers sadly commonplace. However, assuming that the figures are true, all we need is one final push and some more effort to eradicate the polio virus.

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The right to basic healthcare and facilities are nowhere to be found in the Constitution of Pakistan. Only under Chapter 1, Article 26 of the Constitution citizens are protected from discrimination from access to public places. The fact that rural areas lack infrastructure and basic facilities to begin with, are they truly entitled to a remedy under this provision of the Constitution? The fact that such things at least exist on an urban level might mean that the rural population has been discriminated against because rural areas lack basic facilities. However, our honourable courts can only pick up this matter if somebody presents it before them.

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Without a doubt, a nation can not survive if her people are not well fed and of course, well hydrated. The tragic tale of the Thar desert is an event that we know all too well. The negligence of the government in the Thar desert is largely to blame for this. Malnutrition affects more than half of the children in the country. A severe lack of proper nutrition leads to stunting, making the lives of the children even more difficult. According to the Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, about 40% of children become stunted due to a lack of nutrition in Pakistan. Additionally, malnutrition leads to a poor immune system, which makes the children fall victim to a variety of terrible diseases. The life expectancy cannot magically go up if the Pakistani population is not well fed.

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Moving onto water access, Pakistan is one of the most water deprived countries in the world. Only 36% of the local population has access to safely managed water, with only 58% of people with access to proper sanitation (Global Waters). Moreover, Pakistan does not have any effective policy or law that guarantees water access to its citizens. It appears that ‘water rights’ is a term which is absent from the dictionary of our government. It is a basic fact that water is more important to the human body that food. Of course, one cannot survive without either. However, dehydration is the first thing to strike if somebody goes without food and water. Also, the effects of dehydration are far more disastrous than hunger. Thus, if Pakistan wants the life expectancy to improve, everyone must have access to clean, safely managed water. To achieve this, the country must place an effective policy in motion and actually out an effort to implement it.

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Dengue and malaria become even more problematic during the monsoon season, especially with a third of the country submerged. Stagnant water bodies are ideal breeding grounds for mosquito larvae. Besides the regular measures to protect oneself against mosquitoes, draining the water is vital to stop them from breeding. However, as floods are too large to simply drain away, a large amount of fish can be released into the water bodies to feed on the mosquitoes. Thankfully, this was done just in time.

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Substance abuse is another concern which many turn a blind eye to. This is a problem that affects Pakistanis across all economic classes. One can find homeless people abusing lethal substances under a bridge as one can find many a reckless youth doing the same at a party. According to one news channel, a dose of heroin is much cheaper than a meal in Pakistan. These alone are incredibly distressing figures where so many people can not even afford a decent three day’s meal.

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Drug addiction only seems to have increased over the years, with no signs of slowing down. Almost everyone knows someone who has passed away from a drug overdose. It is certainly no coincidence that such unfortunate circumstances have become too common. A study published by the National Library of Medicine highlights the increase in drug addiction at an alarming rate. Additionally, it also states that heroin was the most abused substance followed by cannabis. The study also noted that failing family relations and peer pressure were leading factors that led to substance abuse among the youth. Children as young as six or seven would tread this fatal path. Pakistan will have to create and seriously implement a zero-tolerance policy for narcotics. Narcotics literally poisons its users in all sorts of sickening ways. It is nothing short of tragic that so many children fall victim to this poison. The answer is simple, winners don’t do drugs and neither do those who want their life expectancy to improve. Therefore, parents and guardians will have to take better care of their children. As for adults, they should be expected to act more responsibly.

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The issues outlined above are only some of the large issues that plague Pakistan and keep the life expectancy low. Explaining every reason for Pakistan’s poor life expectancy in detail would necessitate writing an entire book. Of course, the book would not be without detailed solutions to counter the problems causing a low life expectancy. As of now, the results can not be immediate even if we do suddenly decide to act now. They require our consistency over time in order to achieve the desired results.