The government of Pakistan spends a disgracefully low share of the GDP on public health and education. If gastro entritis, dengue or any disease assumes alarming proportion to the near extent of an epidemic, hospitals fall short of medical staff, beds and other facilities. I remember a pro-poor reformist, S J Khan, who consistently from the 1960’s to the present day had advocated mobile unit services for all public services, even daily essential ones, to make such services available to common man near to his doorsteps cheaply and save the expense of building up high cost hospitals, stores etc.
I would borrow from Samar J Khan’s ideas to recommend to the federal and provincial governments to immediately create Mobile Dengue Units to reach out to victims house (on reported cases) to obviate load on hospital doctors, render immediate help, necessary tests on minimal expense etc so that only serious cases are brought to hospital for more cost-effective, efficient requisite services. This will also circumvent the loot, plunder and tyranny poor people are subjected to by business communities and unethical professional. While on the subject of mobile services propounded by my friend in the mid sixties, I may mention that it was him that it was he who published the idea of political restructuring and reforms in distinguished journals in 1998 and 1999.
His ideas were pilfered by Gen Musharraf and his cronies to suit his objectives.
M A JAMAL
Jhelum
