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Friday, March 29, 2024
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    GIK Partners with Getz Pharma to Highlight Issues of Public-Health

    GIK Institute has partnered with Getz Pharma to spread awareness through a live webinar titled “Public Health Failures and Lessons Learnt for a Post-COVID19 World”. The webinar focused on how different countries responded to the pandemic and the lessons we can take forward to ensure that we are better prepared for future health crises.

    Dr. Troy Gepte, a public health epidemiologist from the Philippines, highlighted, “We must learn from the vulnerabilities in our healthcare systems that were exposed during COVID-19, as countries across the globe fell short of resources to effectively tackle the pandemic. We cannot be conclusive that COVID-19 is coming to an end, as new cases are still emerging. We are still very much in the battle, but we can learn from the gaps in our health systems to prepare for the future.”

    Dr. Phillip Mwendo Muthoka from Kenya, Deputy Director Ministry of Health, addressed the shortfalls in testing capacity the country faced as testing was initially only conduced in laboratories in the main cities, but within two months the lab facilities were expanded throughout the nation.

    “Governments around the world need to allocate more resources to healthcare, and a major proportion of funds should go to primary healthcare. We need to prepare better so we can avoid such future pandemic situations,” Dr. Muthoka said.

    Dr. Saad Khalid Niaz, a leading gastroenterologist in Pakistan, discussed how the country had a delayed response to the pandemic, which led to gaps in policy-making and execution. Economy and health go hand in hand.

    “If we have good health, we can have a good economy. Regardless of whether we are in the developing or developed world, in case of major health crises like COVID-19, humanity should rise above and countries should pool their resources to support each other across borders,” Dr. Niaz explained.

    Dr. Wajiha Javed, Head of Public Health & Research at Getz Pharma concluded,” The major message we can take from this discussion is that there is a need to reinvest in primary healthcare and restructuring of health systems to have a bottom-up approach and be better equipped to tackle future crises. Without a multi-disciplinary approach to healthcare, we cannot move ahead. All sectors of society need to be on board to prepare for the future, and countries all over the world must collaborate across borders for the collective benefit of humanity.”