Acting President Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani has said that the Association of Physicians of Pakistan Descent of North America (APPNA) has rendered invaluable services in the medical field and promoted Pakistan’s soft image across the globe. Speaking during a ceremony by APPNA the Governor’s House here on Tuesday night, he said APPNA has been in the forefront to fight Pakistan’s case abroad, adding that APPNA helped Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s government to ward off the ill-effects of Pressler Amendment. 

“The APPNA arranged meetings with the US senators which helped Pakistan minimize the effects of the Pressler Amendment and it benefitted country’s economy and defnce,” he remarked, adding that Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has also eulogized services of the Pakistani doctors under the umbrella of APPNA in the United States. On the medical profession, Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani, in his address, urged young doctors to move forward in the fields of medical research and digital health services and benefit from global experiences.

He said that health and education are two sides of the same coin, and professional development along with innovation in the medical curriculum is inevitable. The Acting President said that in order to cut down the burden on large hospitals, increasing facilities in basic health centers was inevitable, while special attention should be given to the provision of quality and affordable health facilities in rural and underdeveloped areas.

He said under the 18th Constitutional Amendment, the health sector has become a provincial subject, adding that quality health facilities will have to be enhanced through effective legislation and policy-making at the provincial level. On his family’s contribution to the health services in the Multan, he said that his father was the founder of Nishtar Medical College.

 APPNA President Dr. Humaira Akram, Dr. Nasrum Iqbal, Dr. Fazal Akbar Ali, Dr. Tahir Paul, and Pakistan’s first transgender doctor Zaini also addressed the ceremony and spoke about the challenges and opportunities faced by the medical sector. The Acting President Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani distributed awards among the distinguished American doctors of Pakistani origin in acknowledgement of their services in the medical profession. 

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)