Government Initiative

Imran Khan inaugurates first ventilator manufacturing facility

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated the production facility of the first indigenously developed ventilators in Pakistan at the National Radio & Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC) in Haripur. The Prime Minster was given a detailed briefing about the history, sectors of research and development, products and services of NRTC. The NRTC has already produced 15 units of SafeVent SP100 ventilators and has a capacity to manufacture 250-300 units per month. PM Imran Khan commended the initiative of NRTC team and the Ministry of Science and Technology for successfully producing the locally-made ventilators.

“We have abundant talent in our country to take us to self-reliance in new technological innovation and our government will strongly support any initiative to harness the potential of our youth,” said PM. Imran Khan also stated that the government’s approach in response to the pandemic and adopting the smart lockdown while keeping the economy afloat has been widely acknowledged. “It is a historic day. Prime Minister handed over the first batch of ventilators to NDMA. Originally, 57 designs were submitted to Pakistan Engineering Council and four of them were selected. NRTC handed over the first batch of commercially-manufactured ventilators. Three more facilities – two in private sector and one in public sector – will be manufacturing ventilators within the country. This will take to four the number of companies that will manufacture ventilators in Pakistan,” said Fawad Chaudhry. “As a consequence of this initiative, the country will have a huge medical equipment industry which will assist Pakistan cut down on its import bill by $1 billion in three years.

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In five years, Pakistan will not have to import any medical equipment,” Chaudhry said. On the other hand the government report also recorded that National health security is increasingly threatened in Pakistan due to population growth, rising urbanization, environmental pollution and change in lifestyle of people, among other factors. Access to good health can contribute positively to the economic and social development of a country. Thus, key issues that impact the health status of people ought to be addressed through a diverse set of policy tools. To secure better health outcomes, both short- and long-term measures are the need of the hour. Good nutrition also has a direct impact on the overall health and quality of life. The present government is committed to improving the health care facilities and provision of good nutrition for effectively utilizing the human potential of the country. The challenges to the health system will be further exacerbated by the direct and indirect impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has posed considerable health risks to an already vulnerable population living in the country with inadequate healthcare infrastructure.