The International News - Metropolis lacks infrastructure to cater to needs of impaired persons

KARCAHI: A health expert has said that the metropolis does not have a single institute to cater to those in need of Prosthetics and Orthotics (P&O) (artificial body parts) support and the private sector in this regard will not be interested in involving itself unless the government devise a public-private partnership plan. The situation of the physically impaired people could not be improved unless a system of procuring corporate assist is devised to work in partnership with the state.These views were expressed by Dr Sania Nishtar, renowned cardiologist and President Heartfile, at a seminar arranged by the Rotary Clubs of Karachi with the aim to initiate a network of support system for the physically impaired persons on a primary, secondary and tertiary level on Saturday. Dr Bakht Sarwar, Managing Director, Pakistan Institute of Prosthetic and Orthotic Sciences (PIPOS) delivered a presentation stressing the need for setting up P&O support centres. He said that there are 800,000 people in need of P&O in Pakistan and 80,000 in Karachi only. With this, we need to have 208 P&O care centres in the country and at least 21 in Karachi.Numerous representatives of NGOs working for health sector and medical professional present at the occasion vowed to render their unconditional support to the cause to rehabilitate the physically impaired persons all over the country. The Rotary Club also introduced its Chal Network during the seminar, a project that has been working in the earthquake effected areas and particularly focuses on providing all sorts of support to the physically impaired people.