ISLAMABAD, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani President Arif Alvi said on Tuesday that the adoption of preventive care is the need of the hour to address health-related challenges, noting that the country has been taking measures to improve the healthcare system.
"A resource-constrained country like Pakistan could not afford to provide curative care to such a large population...creating awareness could help reduce the disease burden on the country's health sector," the president said while addressing a health summit here.
Stressing the continuity of policies that required public involvement, Alvi said that the role of stakeholders and the business community is critical in creating awareness among the masses about health-related issues, including mental stress, population growth as well as dental health.
"The state can show the path, but it is the responsibility of all stakeholders of the society to share the responsibility by addressing issues in the education, health, and economic sectors," he added.
Talking about COVID-19, the president said that Pakistan emerged as one of the best-performing countries in the world to avert the damage to health and economic sectors, highlighting the collective efforts of the entire nation to ward off the spread of the pandemic when the deadly wave was hitting the globe.
"The precedent has carved a path for the future which can guide us in our endeavors to overcome the contemporary challenges," he added. ■