Breast cancer prevalence

A recent webinar on breast cancer — organised by the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (Comsats), an inter-governmental organisation having a membership of 25 developing countries — has brought to the fore alarming facts about the prevalent of the disease among Pakistani women. They are: Pakistan has the highest rate of breast cancer in the whole of the Asian continent; around 90,000 women are diagnosed with this disease every year, and of them 40,000 — or 44.44% — lose their lives; and one in 10 Pakistani women could develop breast cancer in their lifetime.

The speeches made by the experts at the webinar carry valuable suggestions and recommendations — listed as follows — for beating the disease in the country. One-stop breast cancer clinics should be established at places in the county meant to address financial, cultural, mental and physical needs of women, under one roof. Such steps would be helpful in breaking the stigma surrounding the disease. Measures need to be taken to overcome the lack of knowledge, appropriate facilities, family support and fear related to the disease in society. Awareness is not only needed among women but also among men as they are part of the family and contribute equally towards the journey of recovery.

Above all, the situation stresses the need for enhancing government allocation for healthcare, in general. To the contrary, latest estimates by the Economists Intelligence Unit reveal that Pakistan ranks at the bottom of the table showing spending on health by countries in the South Asian region as a percentage of the GDP. While the Maldives spends 13.7% of GDP on health, the same figure for Pakistan stands at just 2.6%. The spending by seven South Asian countries ranked in between the two are: Afghanistan 8.2%; Nepal 5.8%, India 4.7%, Bhuttan 3.6%, Sri Lanka 3.5% and Bangladesh 2.8%. The authorities concerned need to pay urgent attention.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 3^rd, 2020.

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