Health Services Academy (HSA) in partnership with Trans-Continental
Pharma (TCP) Pvt. Ltd. organized a 1-day seminar on “Strengthening Health System
in Pakistan to Ensure Universal Health Coverage through Public Private Partnership
(PPP)” in Islamabad on 23 rd August 2022 in which leading public health practitioners
and organizations participated.
Prof. Dr. Muhammad Umar, Vice Chancellor, Rawalpindi Medical University
(RMU) delivered opening remarks and acquainted the participants about healthcare
situation in Punjab province and some gaps where the PPP model can plug in to
enhance overall efficiency. He sought to learn the suitable strategy from the learned
organizations to solve the healthcare issues through private public partnership
initiatives in Punjab. Subsequently, a dozen of technical sessions on PPP in
healthcare were delivered by Honourable Dr. Shazia Sobia Aslam Soomro,
Parliamentary Secretary Health, Ministry of National Health Services, Coordination
and Regulations (MoNHSRC), Prof. Dr. Shahzad Ali Khan, Vice Chancellor, Health
Services Academy, Prof. Dr. Farid Midhet, Head of Department (HoD) Maternal and
Child Health, HSA, Prof. Dr. Mubashir Hanif, Director ORIC, HSA, Mr. Asmat Israr,
CEO, TCP, Dr. Nabeela Ali, Country Director, John Snow Inc. (JSI), Dr. Sohail Jan,
Country Director, Trans-Continental Pharma (TCP), Dr. Janbaz Afridi, Director
Projects South Region, Dr. Noshad Ali, Director Global Health, Precision Health
Consultants (PHC) Global Pvt. Ltd., Dr. Adnan Taj, Managing Director, KP Health
Foundation, Ms. Christine [online], Representative of Beijing Genomics Inc. (BGI),
Mr. Ryan [online], Representative of Airdoc China Inc., and Mr. Owais Mir, Chief
Executive Officer (CEO), Dynamic Medical Company (DMC).
Special guest of the day, Parliamentary Secretary Health, Honourable Dr.
Shazia Sobia Aslam Soomro, took the podium and appreciated the efforts of HSA
and TCP for arranging the seminar on this important aspect of health sector. She
endorsed that HSA is the brain of MoNHSRC and works as think tank. MoNHSRC
will own any such initiative towards betterment of healthcare of Pakistan and will go
any farther for making it happen. Appreciating Pakistan’s health sector response,
she said that we did exceptionally well to combat Covid-19 and learned from our own
mistakes, policy making now seems not the problem child rather it’s the coordination
among stakeholders which makes any project successful. The floor was opened for
questions and answers session in which on-line participants as well as the in-person
participants raised their queries which were answered by the relevant
representatives.
Prof. Dr. Farid Midhet, HSA, while giving the closing remarks, appreciated the
arrangements of the seminar, and further mentioned that TCP has undoubtedly
made efficient usage of PPP in healthcare and has set an example for future projects
in KPK. He advised all the participants to keep up the interest, will and quality of the
work to take Pakistan’s healthcare service delivery at better level.