Daily Times

Humans live on this planet and are noble creatures. Along with the creation of human beings, their necessities of life were also created. The most important of them is food and water as nobody can survive without them. The people of Pakistan have always been eager to eat and drink. Nowadays, they enjoy all kinds of food including chicken, mutton, beef, all vegetables, lentils, soft drinks, etc. Increasing competition has made matters worse as many restaurants and food chain owners are giving standard less & unhygienic meals and compromising on the health of citizens. So, when people feel unhealthy or sick, they usually ran for their family doctor or to a medical clinic situated in their area where Quacks are sitting in the form of doctors. They play with the lives of innocent and poor people of the country who cannot afford good health care as well as expensive medicines. This situation is getting worse day by day as several People are suffering from deadly diseases (Hepatitis, Aids, and infections). Pakistan for long was considered a country of low HIV prevalence, but the disease is expanding at an alarming rate with about 22,000 new HIV cases reported in 2020 alone, according to the United Nations.

In spite of the increase in the number of medical universities and graduates from medical colleges, purchase of state-of-the-art medical equipment and liver, massive investments in campus buildings and hospitals, the number of quacks has also increased & the public seems to put down more trust in them by preferring to go to them rather than to a hospital. The main reason behind this is that they are cheap, easily available, and have time to give attention to their patients. Also, they are too good and smart in winning the confidence of the patient to the extreme that the patient or his family is willing to do whatever the quack advises them.

Ignorance and poverty have contributed singlehandedly towards the survival of quackery in Pakistan. Due to lack of awareness and limited exposure, People of rural and remote localities are clueless about the definition of a doctor and the functioning of a medical facility. According to some estimates, there are over 690,000 quacks in Pakistan providing basic and primary healthcare to people in rural and urban areas of the country. Not only they are posing as physicians who treat minor problems (coughs and colds) but also claim to specialize in cancer therapy, as well as liver and renal failure. By doing this, they are doing fraud with people as instead of providing them health, they are giving infectious diseases to people from which even they can die. Then there are so-called healers providing care to patients with mental disorders in graveyards and around shrines. They use different religious methods including holy water, prayers, different strings, and stones to wrap around the wrist. Such treatments are cheap but the patient needs to visit them (healers) regularly for the treatment to take effect. Quack clinics have become family ‘businesses’ with possession being passed from father to son. Patients by the hundreds including young and old, visit such fake clinics every day thinking they are being treated by real doctors. In the majority of cases, the patients suffering from usual health problems benefit from the treatment provided by quacks and that enhances their faith in them. But whenever they failed in complicated cases, the quacks somehow manage to satisfy the patients about the disease & treatment using brilliant satisfying communication skills. Moreover, God forbid if the patient dies, they ascribe it to God’s will instead of medical negligence. The question is; how long will this all continue? When will our institutions and organizations take any serious action on this?

As a developing country, Pakistan has faced it all; the abnormal rise of the private healthcare delivery system, the deteriorating public health sector, and the growth of quackery in both urban and rural areas. Human rights activists consider it a crime to drive poor patients towards private health services for primary healthcare. The reason why people go for private hospitals is; like other developing countries; India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Uganda, Mexico, etc. Pakistan spends a lot less on the healthcare of its inhabitants.

When the Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) took over the reign of regulating the health sector, it’s prime objective was to eliminate quackery. The 2010 ACT of Punjab Healthcare Commission defines a quack as somebody who pretends as a healthcare provider without either being registered with the National Council for Tibb, Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, the National Council for Homeopathy, or the Pakistan Nursing Council. Whereas it has opted for a typical bureaucratic approach of giving blames on others. Besides, PHC looks more involved in collecting money instead of abolishing quackery that is why the commission never tried to work on such laws which might have helped them abolish quackery. From 2015 to up till now, the PHC has tried to close down quackery outlets in Punjab. But the fines are not at all high for the quacks that they take it seriously even for a moment. After paying a minimal amount of 10,000 to 20,000, they open their immoral businesses the same day. In 2018, the Supreme Court of Pakistan took suo moto notice of the rising quackery in Pakistan including Punjab, appointing the Commission as a lead agency against quackery. Sadly 30 to 35 % of outlets use the nameplates of real medical practitioners or dentists which mean they were also getting a share. That is why Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has been asked various times to investigate and cancel the license of those who are found guilty of managing the quackery business. However, nothing has ever happened on this issue.

In this regard, a highly competitive officer Captain (R) Muhammad Usman Younis (Secretary Primary & Secondary Health Punjab) is willing to come over this quackery system. He is keeping an eye on the happening the health matters of entire Punjab. Also, cooperating with law enforcement agencies, he is serving the nation in a tremendous way. But alone, he cannot do much, so what steps should be taken to eradicate this curse from our society? First of all, the Prime Minister of Pakistan (Imran Khan), Chief Justice of Pakistan (Justice Gulzar Ahmad), Health Minister Pakistan (Dr. Zafar Mirza), health minister Punjab (Dr. Yasmin Rashid) & Chairperson of PHC (Dr. Attiya Mubarak Khalid) should take serious notice on the situation. All these people need to work flexibly. After that, the next step to eliminate quackery would be to make preventive healthcare available and within reach of every citizen of the country so that Pakistan becomes a healthy country.

The Writer is a Senior Social Analyst & Chairman Pakistan Columnist Council Can be found at figure786@hotmail.com