The Minister for Health and Population Welfare, Sindh, Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho met with Italian Consul General, Mr. Danilo Giurdanella. The Parliamentary Secretary Health, Qasim Siraj Soomro attended the meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss a collaboration between Italy and the Sindh Minsitry for Health along with Szabist University in order to facilitate a research, learning and exchange programs.
The Minister for Health stated that there is a need for an increased number of vascular surgeons who can be trained and then sent back to their localities in order to have a higher standard of vascular surgery across the province, instead of this high standard simply being concentrated in the more urban regions of Sindh.
Thalassemia is a major concern in Pakistan, so the Health Department is looking to expand operations to increase awareness regarding this blood disorder through telehealth. Medication for the treatment of this illness is extremely expensive and partnering with Italian pharmaceutical companies for local manufacturing of the medicines could help reduce this cost.
Other areas of interest in the health sector discussed during the meeting were oncology, virology, pediatrics and intensive care, where Italy and Sindh can collaborate and work together.
Dr. Azra Pechuho also mentioned the 1000 days project that focuses on prenatal, maternal and child health and this project, the dispensaries would be spread across Sindh in order to reach even the most remote regions to allow a uniform standard of health, expertise and nutrition to be maintained. The Italian Consulate was asked to facilitate by providing technical expertise and capacity building inorder to implement the project as soon as possible.
The Indus Civilization in Pakistan is an ancient and is an important part of the global heritage that is largely unknown. Italy and Sindh have been jointly working in archaeological excavations for many years. There is a great need to establish an Archaeological Research Centre with the collaboration of Ministry of Culture, Szabist and the Italian Consulate.
Szabist expressed the desire to setup a course on archeology that can focus on heritage preservation in the region. Italy can facilitate to provide training, expertise, knowhow and research in order to establish a fully equipped institution. Italy can also help by overseeing design, technical specifications of the project and assist in training local human resources.
