Policymakers and academics said Tuesday Pakistan’s nurses and midwives were playing a vital role on the frontlines of the third wave of coronavirus despite the ongoing shortage of healthcare professionals in the country.
The comments of the policymakers and academics came during a seminar at the Aga Khan University Hospital, held to celebrate the International Day of Nurses and Midwives.
While recognising how nurses have gone above and beyond the call of duty to serve the public during the pandemic, Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah, the chief guest at the event, noted that the demand for nurses worldwide is increasing — creating incentives for nurses in Pakistan to move abroad.
“We are mindful of the fact that due to the global shortage of nurses, the demand worldwide has increased which is giving our nurses the opportunity to migrate to high-income countries to improve their quality of life.
This is definitely something we don’t want to happen as in Pakistan, there had already been a shortage of 1.3 million nurses before the pandemic,” CM Shah said.Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan said: “Pakistan has one of the greatest shortages of trained, high-quality nurses.”
The SAPM noted that no healthcare system could deliver quality care without the input of trained, committed professionals in the nursing field.
Dr Sultan said the government’s national health task force has been working to expand the education and training of nurses to ensure that the country’s nursing workforce continues to grow.
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