President Dr Arif Alvi has called for making preventive efforts to reduce the burden and risk of diseases in the country.

The President expressed these views while talking to the medical students of Azad Jammu Kashmir Medical College, Muzaffarabad who called on him at Aiwan-e-Sadr, on Wednesday.

The President said that Pakistan’s health sector could not afford to cater to the needs of over 220 million population, adding that it was essential to focus on the prevention of communicable and non-communicable diseases.

Welcoming the students, the President stated that the world was changing very fast and the education system of the country needed to adapt itself to the changing circumstances by focusing on improving the analytical abilities of the students. He said that students should improve their IT skills as IT was going to have vast applications in every profession of life.

Highlighting the importance of the nursing profession, the President said that the nursing profession had great significance and scope and the country needed to increase the number of nursing and paramedical staff. He remarked that Pakistan was facing a shortage of nurses as it required 900,000 nurses whereas only 200,000 nurses were working in the country at present who were unable to cater to the health needs of the growing population.

Underscoring the importance of education, the President said that progress could not be achieved without proper education, adding that the students should work hard and continue their profession to serve humanity.

Source: Radio Pakistan