ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) Chairman Muhammad Naeem said on Friday that 900,000 cancer patients get treatment every year from its 18 hospitals.
He was speaking at the 22nd Congress organised by PAEC and Pakistan Society of Clinical Oncology. He said PAEC was working for diagnosis of cancer and its treatment and cancer, adding that patients were getting facilities in 18 hospitals in different big and small cities of the country. PAEC established the first hospital in 1961, he added.
A cancer hospital would be set up in Gilgit, one more was being planned in Narowal while the Prime Minister Azad Kashmir had assured of his cooperation in setting up a cancer hospital in Muzaffarabad. The PAEC was playing its role in important sectors including energy and agriculture, he added.
He stressed that more hospitals were needed to be established and the government of Pakistan would extend cooperation to PAEC in providing healthcare facilities. The government had given Rs 30 billion to PAEC for upgradation of hospitals and maintenance of equipment. “We needed more doctors and equipment.”
Naeem said the conference would help in exchange of knowledge and learning new ways for timely diagnosis of disease.
He said, “PAEC was performing an important role in energy production and its plant in Karachi was providing 1100 megawatts to national grid while 1330 megawatts were provided through Chashma one, two, three and four power plants. Another 1100 megawatts would be provided through Chashma five to meet power needs of the country.”
He said PAEC had an important role in the development of agriculture and had been producing 105 varieties of seeds for rice, cotton and other crops.
The 40 per cent seed used in Sindh was prepared by PAEC, he said adding it was also manufacturing isotopes and radio pharmaceutical kits in its research reactors, saving foreign exchange.
He informed that Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences (PIEAS) had been declared the best university in the ranking of Higher Education Commission (HEC).
He said in the battle against cancer, media had been playing a crucial role in creating awareness among people.
Pakistan Society of Oncology President Dr Muhammad Faheem, Ayub Medical College Principal Prof Aziz Nisa and Dr Jawad Akhtar Gilani also addressed the participants of the conference.
The chairman of PAEC inaugurated the stalls of the pharmaceutical companies.