Public health is an important aspect of healthcare services that is often ignored in the developing countries and highly emphasized in the developed world. The need has been felt to have capacity building as we lack in skilled human resource in the field of community health sciences said Prof. Masood Hameed Khan, Vice Chancellor Dow University of Health Sciences at the Inauguration Ceremony of School of Public Health at Dow Medical College, Karachi.
Prof. Masood Hameed Khan further said that considering the importance of community health, Dow University since its inception has been focused on providing cost effective healthcare services for the betterment of society’s health. Pakistan being a developing country cannot afford the heavy disease burden presently prevailing in our society. The graduates of this school need to practically implement the old slogan ‘Prevention is better than cure’ so as to provide cost effective measures that enables provision of health services to all segments of society irrespective of their affordability and help them lead a healthy life.
He further informed that various projects of Dow University have successfully been implemented in this regard like National Institute of Liver and GI diseases (NILGID), National Institute of Diabetes & Endocrinology (NIDE), Institute of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (IPM&R), Dow University Artificial Limb Centre (DUAL), Dow Laboratory along with its six collection points at various places, Dow Radiological complex having fully equipped most modern machines like MRI, CT Scan & fluoroscopy etc. and a 500 bedded general hospital having modern facilities in General and Private wards.
Prof. S.N. Bazmi Inam, Adviser to School of Public Health from Qassim University-Riyadh, Saudi Arabia said that the infant mortality rate in Pakistan was 85 (per 1000 lives) until last year but in 2012 it was 63. This is very sad as infant mortality can be easily controlled because 70 per cent of diseases that contribute to mortality and morbidity are preventable through appropriate health promotion and disease prevention strategies. In our country, we haven’t done anything to bring down the infant mortality rate.
The School of Public Health needs to develop to convince politicians to develop their positive will because the government’s health plans look great on paper but they fail where the implementation comes in.
Prof. Nighat Nisar, Director of School of Public Health (SPH), said that SPH has been established to offer program in six different disciplines covering wide range of areas. The two-year programme, the most widely-recognised professional credential for leadership in public health, emphasises active, student-directed learning, problem solving and the acquisition of skills essential to the practice of public health. The programme has 46 credit hours that have been divided into four semesters.
The courses offered at SPH are Masters in Public Health (MPH), Masters in Bio-statistics and Epidemiology (MSBE), MPhil in Health Education, Masters in Health Policy Management (MHPM), Masters in Nutritional Sciences (MSNS) and Masters of Science in Social and Behavioral Sciences (MSPH-SBS). Students having 16 years of education in MBBS or Allied Health Science can opt for any specialty either a Masters or MPhil degree.
Prof. Nazeer Ahmed, Director Research Deparmtment of DUHS explaining Masters of Science in Biostatistics & Epidemiology (MSBE) Program said that DUHS has taken the lead in starting the MSBE programme four years ago. Graduates of this programme are in high demand in industries, academics, government institutions and pharmaceutical companies. They can work as drug data analysts, medical investigators and public health researchers.
Prof. Hussain Bux Kolachi gave the details of M.Phil in Health Education and Promotion Programme. He said that the degree course, spread over two years with four semesters and original thesis work, would be offered to medical, dental, nursing and allied medical science graduates. Students during this course will also be utilising University health resources while gaining expertise in state of art health education methods, health communication skills, ethical standards in health education, research and material education in health education and evidence-based health education practice.
Dr. Sabeena Jalal, Coordinator of the Project said that the qualified students will eventually not only develop their own career but will also become leaders in public health for our nation and would help build a healthier society. This school has highly qualified and experienced faculty members having international caliber so as to successfully conduct all programs. The students after qualifying from this school will have great opportunities to work in a wide variety of diversified fields e.g. teaching hospitals, government functionaries, pharmaceuticals, local and international NGOS, school health services and many more.
In the end, Prof. Masood Hameed Khan, Vice Chancellor, DUHS presented DUHS memento to Prof. Dr. S. N. Bazmi Inam.