History of the health sector of Pakistan after Independence

            History of the health sector of Pakistan after Independence

 Health sectors play a vital role in the well-being of the country and are a major factor in the development of any country . Pakistan has been struggling with the health sector after got independence in 1947 but after independence, Pakistan could not perform well in health sector because of political instability in the country and had a lack of resources and capital to make the healthcare infrastructure better. During the year 1960, the country was growing rapidly and many countries were impressed by its development of Pakistan they called Pakistan an Asian tiger but after that year our country has trapped on the wrong path and could make a progress, especially in health there was no proper focus to make the health sector better and somehow bring reforms in the health care system of Pakistan but those policies could not retain for a longer period. Mostly poor people died due to poor health facilities such as no proper treatment no proper sanitation and no clean drinking water facilities in a country as well. If a country’s labor is healthy its productivity and prosperity will automatically improve. However, Pakistan brought some programs to eliminate some serious diseases such as the polio program and to eliminate smallpox in 1974, and in 1978 the program immunization expanded program immunization vaccine-preventable childhood killer diseases were also launched. This program rapidly increased with major scaling in 1983 and another program was launched in 2001 to target people suffering from tuberculosis.

 In Pakistan, the infrastructure of the health sector consists of basic health units(BHU), rural health centers(RHCs), and district hospitals in Pakistan the network of the basic health care system consists of 5,518 basic health units,5802 dispensaries,683 rural health center, and 1201 hospitals. If we look at the number of human resources 1, 16,189 GPs, 22,799 specialists, 33,427 nurses, and 95,000 LHWs.These numbers are not quite enough to fulfill the need of the country as our country’s population is growing rapidly and these numbers will cover their needs. Pakistan brought some health policy since we got independence National Health policy in 1990 the objectives of this policy were to improve health including family planning and providing clean water were taken into consideration. It is focused on the health services in schools for controlling malaria and infectious diseases and providing clean water and sanitation for public health. National Health Policy 1997 was the second health policy the concept of Health for All its Moto, such as road traffic accidents, Hiv and AIDs, cancer, violence, and mental health were given attention. Under this policy health education and health promotion were given prior and non-infectious diseases e.g. diabetes, cancer, and other diseases under the District health government initiatives, decentralization of health later on it was uncontrolled. National Health Policy 2001 stated that the new health policy provides an overall national vision for the health sector based on the health for all approach. National Health policy 2009 this policy was focused on the health system's effectiveness and efficiency and ensuring acceptable, accessible, and affordable health services. This policy also ensures to improve the health status while being fair, responsive, and pro-poor and contributing to poverty reduction. This policy draft was drawn up in response to the 18^th Amendment where the dissolution of the power was given to the provincial level so the provincial government could take a decision and take responsibility for the people. National health vision 2016-2025 this national health policy is based on eight pillars these pillars pave the pave way for safety, coverage, and quality and are accessible to all people in a country to improve its efficiency and social protection as well.
Besides many obstacles in our existing health sector, there is still a ray of hope for the future outcomes of the current situation. Our health sector running with the collaboration of the ministry of health and the world health organization to better the health situation of Pakistan, there is a better need for dedication and devotion from the government to take a step forward and make it feasible. There is a long-term vision for the health sector that can make our country’s future in health development. 

Why Education is important in Pakistan?

 

Education not only increases one's chances of securing a good job but also their capacity to view things differently. A good education opens up a variety of career options. One key statistic for assessing educational attainment is the literacy rate. Its consolidation significantly affects other crucial prosperity indices. Education always paves the road for justice by assisting individuals in recognizing the lines between right and wrong. History demonstrates that one of the main causes of destruction is incompetence and incapacity in the sphere of education.

The district-level survey of Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLSM) for 2019–20 shows that the population's literacy rate (10 years and older) has remained constant at 60% from 2014–15. The combined federal and provincial government spending on education in FY2020 was 1.5 percent of the GDP, falling from 2.3 percent in FY 2019–20. Education spending had been continuously increasing up to 2018–19, but in 2019–20, it fell by 29.6 percent, from Rs. 868 billion to Rs. 611 billion.

According to UNICEF, Pakistan currently has the second-highest number of out-of-school children (OOSC) in the world, with an estimated 22.8 million children between the ages of 5 and 16 not attending school. This represents 44% of the total population in this age range, along with 5 million children between the ages of 5 and 9 who are not enrolled in school. The government of Pakistan is required by the country's constitution to provide free education to children in this age group, however, this was not able to be achieved. This year, Pakistan's literacy rate is close to 58.7%, which is even lower than Bangladesh's and Nepal's, which are 61.5% and 64.7%, respectively. One of the main causes of Pakistan's poor growth and the damaging economy is that it is one of the countries, along with Sri Lanka and the Maldives, that fall behind most other nations in terms of education.

In comparison to other countries, it would not be incorrect to say that Pakistan's education system has not received much attention since its independence. Even the few government schools that are now operating lack the necessary infrastructure. In Pakistan, almost 50% of schools lack access to clean water and restrooms, and some government schools have been observed to be utilized as livestock stables or to be outside. This is true across the board, not just in one province. All political parties pledge to impose an educational emergency in order to win votes, but once in power, they break their promises and are unable to make meaningful attempts to provide their citizens with high-quality education, opting instead to make neutral claims.

Even though Pakistan devotes a very small portion of its GDP to education compared to certain other Asian nations, corruption is a major factor in the country's inability to provide its citizens with a high-quality education. While the federal and provincial governments are under pressure from abroad to take appropriate action in the area of education, it has recently been noticed that they have made some changes in the direction of quality education and have also announced various schemes and scholarships to incentivize Pakistanis. At a 70% attendance rate, all of these scholarships will be awarded biometrically. Recent initiatives by the federal and provincial governments in support of reading and education are to be applauded; in fact, they will help many poor people enroll their children in school. Such actions may result in changes for the nation. In Pakistan, various educational systems are being taught. The national education system was announced by the federal government; however, the Sindh government has concerns. The federation, Sindh, and all other provinces should receive education policy instruction for restructuring the entire educational system, increasing GDP nominally, taking precautions against corruption, providing high-quality education, and improving future generations.

Best Regards,

Arooj Aftab, Karamat Ali, Usama Khan Niazi

Why Does Energy Security Matter?

Energy security is a crucial issue for a country. It's also an issue that can't be ignored, as it will affect everything from your economy to the environment. Energy security is a multidimensional concept. It incorporates a country or region's social, economic, political, legal, and regulatory aspects. Water, Energy, and Food (WEF) are boundary conditions for global security and sustainable development. Energy security is a nationally as well as internationally acclaimed phenomenon. Pakistan’s Vision 2025 defines energy security as, “the access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all”. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) defines energy security as, ‘‘Continuous availability of energy in varied forms, in sufficient quantities and at reasonable prices’’.

Pakistan ranked 134^th in the WEF Nexus Index, with a 50.9 Index value. Individually, valued at 51.2 for the water pillar, 51.8 for the energy pillar, and 49.8 for the food pillar. 

Energy security is a function of three interrelated issues: power generation, transportation infrastructure, and energy efficiency. All three must be addressed to ensure that there will always be enough electricity available when it is needed most—during peak hours of demand when everyone uses their appliances at once—and that there are fuel sources available at reasonable prices when fossil fuels run out and cannot be replaced with renewables like wind or solar power without any downtime at all. Energy security is the ability to sustainably meet all of one's energy needs. Whether this means having enough electricity in your home enough oil to heat your house, or enough natural gas to boil water, this concept is of utmost importance to any country that has a high standard of living. Energy security also plays a key role in food, water, and energy security as well as environmental sustainability.

The problem with energy security today is that we are not seeing the same rates of growth as we did in the past. Many countries are seeing declines in their economy due to factors like climate change and population growth. And yet these trends have not led them down the path towards sustainable energy use or increased technology for clean energy solutions – instead, they are relying on more fossil fuels which will contribute even more greenhouse gases into our atmosphere over time if left unchecked!

As the world's population continues to grow, and as the energy demand grows, it is clear that our reliance on fossil fuels will only increase. This has led many people to wonder: 

how can we ensure that we have enough energy security?

Sustainability is one way to achieve energy security. Sustainable energy sources are those that provide a steady supply of energy, without having to rely on expensive imports or excessive use of fossil fuels. Sustainable sources include renewable resources like wind and solar power, as well as natural gas, which is a more environmentally friendly alternative to coal.

When we look at energy security, we need to take into account some key things: The threat of climate change and global warming is real, and it's caused by human activity. We need to reduce carbon emissions to combat global warming! Energy is a finite resource. If we don't use it wisely, we could run out of it soon—and that could lead to significant economic problems for us all. There are many ways we can improve our energy security: from building wind farms and solar panels on rooftops to investing in clean energy research and development (R&D).

How would the country fuel its military against the threats of terrorism and extremism without acknowledging the importance of energy security?

Best Regards,

Areeba Abid, Haider Tanoli, Irfan Haider, Talha Khaliq

P.S. You can send us your suggestions and queries at: areebaabid17@gmail.com

Introduction of Policing Sector

Accountability for police officers should be an expectation not an abberaration.

To aware the people about community policing Everywhere in the world, Police is considered as the frontline of defence, precisely, a “pawn “on the board of crime. Having direct contact with society at every level, it plays a vital role in ensuring the smooth and steady functioning of law and order situation in the society. Therefore, everywhere in the world, capacity building of the Police department is a top priority of concerned stakeholders. However, unfortunately, in Pakistan, things have been otherwise. This contradictory prevailing trend, when it comes to policing, has led to many devastating consequences for the society as well as the department itself.

We are students of BS-Public Administration and Governance 6^th Semester. Every semester brings up courses of absolute importance for our country. We as youth are esteemed to polish our skills and strengthen ourselves as a nation. This semester we are introduced to the course PUBLIC SECTOR REFORMS AND SOCIAL CHANGE under the supervision of Assistant Professor Dr. Athar Rashid. We pledge to be a part of the social change and make contributions to reforming the public sector institutions.

The core OBJECTIVES of our project are to:

•  Identify the major issues in the Police Sector of Pakistan
• Establish a comparative analysis of the Police status between Pakistan and other countries
• Analyze people’s attitude, knowledge, opinions, and preferences regarding Police of Pakistan.
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•  Provide a way forward to tackle the rising Police-Citizen problems.

types of Pakistan police

 Policing is an important structural and functional component of state. It is responsible for prevention of evil acts, eradication of crime and bringing peace to the state. Pakistan, police force hasn’t been able to provide the masses with protection from crime and bringing peace to the country. There are many reasons for the failure of police to fulfil its duties in Pakistan. “insufficient resources, political interruptions, and lack of coordination with other institutions are important to be mentioned”.

Federal Police

 

• •       Airports Security Force (8,945 personnel)
• •      Anti-Narcotics Force(3,100 personnel)  
• •      National Highways and Motorway Police
• •      Pakistan Railways Police
• •      Pakistan Rangers 
• •      Pakistan Customs(41,000 personnel)
• •      Capital Territory Police
• •      Islamabad Traffic Police.

 

Provincial Police

• •      Balochistan Police(38,000 personnel)
• •      Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police (83,000 personnel) 
• •      Punjab Police (180,000 personnel) 
• •      Sindh Police (128,500 personnel) 

Territorial Police

• •      Azad Kashmir Police 
• •       Gilgit-Baltistan Police 

Policing is an important structural and functional component of state. It is responsible for prevention of evil acts, eradication of crime and bringing peace to the state. Pakistan, police force hasn’t been able to provide the masses with protection from crime and bringing peace to the country. There are many reasons for the failure of police to fulfil its duties in Pakistan. “insufficient resources, political interruptions, and lack of coordination with other institutions are important to be mentioned”.

Your suggestion is highly encouraged mailed at : zunairaabbasi112@gmail.com

 

Best Regards,

Zunaira Abbasi, Daniyal, Kamran Javed, Rehan Ali 

Pakistan railways (PR), either pivot of development or devolution?

Let me begin with a brief introduction, We (Tuaha khan, Izharullah and sharjeel Ahmed) are students of the department of governance and public policy (GPP), and are currently enrolled in the BS-6^th PAG (Public administration and governance), doing the course of Public Sector Reforms and social change under the supervision of Dr. Athar Rashid. In this course, we all are assigned to different public sectors and are responsible for contributing towards the reforms in these public sectors. In this blog, we will be talking about the public sector Pakistan Railways (PR). Our purpose today is, to share information about Pakistan Railways (PR).

 Before going towards the overview and historical development of Pakistan Railways (PR), the aims and objectives of our project are:

•       To identify the major issues of the railway sector of Pakistan.

•       To identify the Reforms contribution of government of Pakistan in the betterment of the railway department.

•       To compare the Pakistan and world's successful railway sectors.

•       To highlight the importance of the railway department in international relations and the economic development of Pakistan.

•       To highlight the relation of SDG's with the railway department.

•       To suggest youth-level reforms to tackle the growing problems of the railway sector.

 

We all know that Pakistan railway is a state-owned transport service, operating under the federal government and headquartered in Lahore. It owns an 11,881 km (2022) track across Pakistan, having 8 operating divisions: Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Rawalpindi, Sukkur, and Gwadar. Pakistan Railways play an important role in the political, economic, and social development of Pakistan. It is employing more than 80,000 people across Pakistan, promotes trade, contributes towards the GDP of Pakistan, pivots of industrial and commercial development, promotes national integration, cheapest and safest mode of transportation.

Going back to a pre-partition time, in the era of British colonialism, we see that the idea of a rail network was first given by Henry Edward in 1847. On 13^th May 1861, the first railway line was opened in public between Karachi and kotri. After 1970, the Indian railways became the Pakistan railways. The question is, what went wrong? How Pakistan's railway system went bankrupt while neighboring countries performed admirably in railways.

We see that the primary mode of transport in Pakistan was railways but after 1970 road transport becomes more eminent and in turn shifted the focus from the railway to road infrastructure. From 2005-2010, the expenditure on railways was only Rs. 45bn compared to 155bn on national highways. The crisis on railways was started in 1970 and continuously increasing, which is creating a burden on the economy of Pakistan. Interference from politicians and bureaucracy, as well as the failure to update the inherited 19th-century railway infrastructure, has resulted in mere mismanagement and rot. The Political developments were not proved beneficial to the system. In the time of 2008-12, the deficit of the railways had increased from RS 12.6 billion to RS 18.6 billion in 2008-09, then, in the following year, 2009-10, the deficit reached RS 20.1 billion and in the following year it reached RS 26.9 billion and in 2012-13 it reached RS 30.5 billion.

           

Considering the above deficit statistics, which have increased with each passing year, we can conclude that it was the inefficiencies of the government during their tenure that prevented them from dealing with the situation effectively. They continued to burden the economy rather than reform the sectors. The NLC (national logistic cell) was also a major contributor to the decline of the freight train role in the Pakistan railway because it focuses on road freight rather than rail freight. Pakistan Railways are essential in Pakistan because they are the cheapest mode of transportation, almost everyone can afford it, it is environmentally friendly and emits less pollution than other vehicles, accidents by trains are much lower than other vehicles, the average death rate per year on railways is less than 100, whereas road transportation has above 10,000 deaths, During disasters, railways are thought to be the most efficient means of moving relief materials in the least amount of time.

The failure of Pakistan railways PR is mainly due to the multifaceted issues of bad governance, political intervention, mismanagement, corruption, insufficient human resources, poor infrastructure, poor maintenance of tracks and bridges, and massive deficits. Furthermore, the increasing percentage of investment in road infrastructure and the sustained low investment in Pakistani railways have had a negative influence on Pakistani railway's financial status.

As students of public sector reforms and social change, we will make suggestions for reforms or improvements to the railway department. All students are encouraged to contribute reform ideas.

Regards,

Tuaha khan, IzharUllah and Sharjeel Ahmed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Introduction to the Health Sector of Pakistan

Health Sector of Pakistan

World Health Organization (WHO) defines a healthcare system as a system consisting of people, and organizations that primarily work to restore, maintain and promote health. A well-developed, efficient and advanced healthcare system is incumbent to improve the health of people and prevent the spread of diseases and it is one of the primary concerns of states. Pakistan has a three-tier healthcare system consisting of hospitals, dispensaries, and rural health centers. Since its inception, many governments have tried to improve the situation in Pakistan. Although our system improves over time. The progress of the health sector in Pakistan could not be ignored since the time of independence. Moreover, it has achieved improvement in the social sector, agricultural sector, economic sector, and Industrial sector. Pakistan's health care system is in progress and since last year, Pakistan has tried to make many improvements in its health care delivery system and has brought out many reforms. 

We are students of the Department of Governance and Public Policy, 6th semester, Morning (BS Public Administration and Governance). This semester, we have a course on 'Public Sector Reforms and Social Change' supervised by Assistant Professor Dr. Athar Rashid. In this regard, we are working on the Health sector of Pakistan. The health sector aims to provide social health protection and equal access to quality. Health care has significant positive effects on individual public health, economic growth, and development. Without substantial investment in human resources, Pakistan can never achieve sustainable economic development

Objectives:

• Identify the major challenges of the Health sector of Pakistan.
• Establish a comparative analysis of the Health sector between Pakistan and other international countries.
• Focusing on the need analysis of people regarding the Health Sector of Pakistan.
• Emphasize the importance and role of the Health sector of Pakistan
• Establish sustainable development and economic growth.
• Provide a way forward to reform the challenges of the Health sector.

 

Furthermore, their stakeholders and regulatory bodies play key roles in connecting health information systems for better health such as; Pakistan medical and dental council, Pakistan Medical Commission Pakistan council of homeopathy, Pakistan nursing council, Pakistan pharmacy council (PMC), Council of Tibb, Ministry of National Health services regulation and coordination, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Health, Provisional departments of health, District healthcare system and NGOs.

We always welcome your suggestions regarding the Health Sector of Pakistan and try to make public institutions more transparent and accountable.

 

Regards,

Aimen Riaz, Samiullah, Wazir Shafaat, Umair Khalid.

 P.S. You can send us your suggestions and queries at: aimenkhan932@gmail.com

What does Pakistan’s Energy Mix look like?

Understanding the Energy Mix of Pakistan

Energy Mix of Pakistan

Generally, energy resources are divided into conventional and non-conventional or renewable resources. Conventional Resources are categorized into two types, Thermal Energy including coal, oil, natural gas, and Nuclear Energy. The Non-conventional Resources can be solar, hydel, wind, geothermal, and biomass. Pakistan’s two-thirds of the energy requirements are fulfilled by thermal resources. The Primary Energy Consumption of different sources has been demonstrated by Integrated Energy Planning for Sustainable Development (IEP) under the Ministry of Planning Development and Special Initiatives, with the same percentage of fuel oil and natural gas, 19% coal, 17% electricity, and the lowest LPG consumption. 

Primary Energy Consumption 2020 (IEP)

Why Pakistan is still far behind the other developing countries despite its potential for renewable energy production? Pakistan’s energy mix is mainly 64% fossil fuels, 27% hydropower, and 9% other renewables and nuclear power. Coal is an important form of fossil fuel with increasing consumption in Pakistan. The share of coal in the energy mix has certainly increased in the past few years due to the Chinese investment projects under CPEC. Whereas there is a frequent lack of financial and technical resources to install and run hydroelectric power plants. There is an emphasis on clean and safe energy for use and environmental protection, for this the use of coal has to be reduced with a shift towards hydel and solar energy. Technological innovations have improved energy efficiency with decreased costs and affordable usage.

Pakistan’s energy mix is in shambles. The country has consistently lagged behind other countries in terms of its renewable energy generation, with only 2% of its electricity coming from renewable sources. This is large because Pakistan has historically relied on fossil fuels and imported gas to meet its energy needs. Due to these factors, Pakistan has one of the highest CO2 emissions in the world. It is well documented that CO2 emissions are directly linked to climate change and therefore pose an urgent threat to global warming. However, there are other factors at play too such as deforestation and soil degradation which further contribute towards global warming by releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere; this has led to increased flooding in certain regions across Pakistan. For example, last year’s floods affected over 60 million people throughout Pakistan and caused extensive damage; this was largely attributed to climatic events like these events occurring more frequently because of changing weather patterns due to global warming.

Pakistan must urgently reassess its current energy mix and devise an energy policy based on a cost-benefit ratio as well as sustainability and optimal utilization. In the short run where Pakistan faces acute electricity deficiency, new hydro projects cannot be expected to meet the deficit. In the long term, there is a need to enhance investment in hydropower generation as there continues to be a risk of shortage of dependence on fossil fuel continues. The fact is that to suit the needs of Pakistan there needs to be an extensive expansion of the available energy sources. The energy mix of Pakistan needs to be more than just gas, oil, hydel and solar.

Best Regards,

Areeba Abid, Haider Tanoli, Irfan Haider, Talha Khaliq

P.S. You can send us your suggestions and queries at: areebaabid17@gmail.com