Infectious Diseases in Pakistan Are Not Being Reported as a Matter of Policy

I have been feeling concerned about the health of the nation for a large part of January. The reason is that I was severely ill during this time and happened to be in Bahawalpur, a remote district of Punjab situated on the fringes of Cholistan (an extension of the famous Rajasthan Desert). Drawing from my personal experience with the quality of health services available in the area and the feedback received from physicians working there, I now believe that the healthcare system, if it exists at all, needs a drastic overhaul.

Bahawalpur seems to be the favourite place for the bureaucrats of the Punjab Health Department solely for the reason that being a remote district of Punjab, it raises least objection to their easy ways due to its nature and constitution. When it comes to competition for this important slot, those having origins in Lahore and adjoining districts of the provincial capital win the race. Bahawalpur is rife with stories how they mint money during their stay in the area.

One of my friends associated with a basic health unit (BHU) of Bahawalpur told me an interesting story. Waving a yellow form reserved for the reporting of infectious diseases, he said that he happened to fill it once and escaped penalization from his superiors when he pleaded that though he knew well the law, but did not know the norm that infectious diseases — count them as malaria, hepatitis A, chicken pox, etc. — can’t be registered but with the title of ‘PUO’, i.e. Pyrexia (diseases) of Unknown Origin.

In theory, there is no presence of the infectious diseases in Bahawalpur region where people drink unsafe water and the sewerage system is simply non-existent in the fast growing towns and villages in the outskirts of the district headquarters. Common infectious diseases are being unscrupulously reported as diseases of unknown origin. The fast sinking ground water, scarcity of rains and diversion of Sutlej and Beas rivers to India has made Bahawalpur region a home to water-borne diseases.