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ICEP Dawn Analysis

DAWN EDITORIALS PLUS OPINIONS
DECONSTRUCTION

Dated: Friday 10 July, 2020

BY: ICEP Analysts M.Usman & Rabia Kalhoro.

ICEP Dawn Analysis

Note:
We pick out Opinions from different Newspapers
related to:

#Competitive Exams
#Essay Writing
#Current Affairs
#Historical episodes
#Pakistan Affairs
# General Knowledge
# Global Issues
# Geopolitics
# International Relations
# Foreign Policy

ICEP Dawn Analysis

Pricing medicine | DAWN EDITORIAL

THE drug-pricing issue has once again taken centre stage in the debate on affordable
healthcare triggered by the Covid-19 crisis. The government is reported to have approved a
proposal to amend the Drug Pricing Policy 2018 to do away with the existing mechanism
that allows pharmaceutical manufacturers an automatic, inflation-adjusted increase in
their prices. The suggested change may appear innocuous as it doesn’t alter the CPI
inflation-based pricing formula. But it isn’t. It stops pharmaceutical firms from enhancing
prices by just informing the health ministry 30 days before implementing the new rates. In
other words, the drug regulator Drap will get back its arbitrary powers to decide if and
when to increase the prices. The present drug-pricing policy was developed on the orders of
the apex court, which was hearing several hundred hardship cases filed by drug
manufacturers seeking an upward revision in their prices. Thus, the amendment is likely to
reopen the floodgates of litigation, besides increasing bureaucratic interventions in
purely business decisions, and spawning corruption. More important, the failure of the
regulator to notify the price increase in a timely manner would make production of certain
life-saving medicines and vaccines unviable, resulting in their disappearance from the
market as was the case for several years because of a 13-year freeze on drug prices.

Drug pricing has always been a political issue in Pakistan. There is no denying the fact that
medicines are a public good. But at the same time drug manufacturing is a ‘for-profit’
business for investors, who would have to earn enough margins on their products to stay
economically viable. No government can expect medicine producers to bear the burden of
healthcare costs for it. While it is important for the government to control the prices of
essential life-saving drugs, as is the case in Bangladesh and India, the blanket application
of such a policy can be detrimental to new investments where capacity expansion, new
technology, quality assurance and exports are concerned. Little wonder that several foreign
companies have already exited Pakistan and the industry lags far behind its regional
counterparts. Unlike Bangladesh, we don’t have a single FDA-approved firm in
Pakistan and only one out of over 600 manufacturers has been able to secure
certification to sell its products in Europe and the UK.

ICEP Dawn Analysis

Suggestions
i. To ensure affordability, the government should improve its oversight of the market to
encourage fair competition,
ii. improve Drap’s capacity to make quick decisions on, say, drug approval, and
iii. help the industry reduce its cost of doing business rather than denying manufacturers
their legitimate inflation-based price hike.
iv. Further, the authorities also need to create a market for generic drugs, the formulations
sold under their original chemical name at a massive discount compared to branded
ones.
v. The government needs to learn from the regional industry and follow best practices
instead of suffocating manufacturers through price control for short-term political
gains.

VOCABULARY DESCRIPTION

Innocuous: not harmful or offensive.

Arbitrary: (of power or a ruling body) unrestrained and autocratic in the use of authority. A
country under arbitrary government”
Floodgates: a last restraint holding back an outpouring of something powerful or substantial.
“his lawsuit could open the floodgates for thousands of similar claims”
Litigation: the process of taking legal action.
Apex: the top or highest part of something
Spawning: to cause something new, or many new things, to grow or start suddenly. “The new
economic freedom has spawned hundreds of new small businesses.”
Detrimental: tending to cause harm.
Blanket application: Applying to or covering all conditions or instances: “a blanket insurance
policy”
Drap:

ICEP Dawn Analysis

Back to school? |DAWN EDITORIAL

AFTER a nearly five-month closure due to Covid-19, schools and universities in Pakistan
are scheduled to reopen on Sept 15. Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood made the
announcement at a press conference, saying that educational institutes will reopen with
SOPs in place. Mr Mahmood also said that authorities are mulling several options:
scheduling classes on alternate days, conducting classes outdoors, training teachers, recalling
students to hostels with maximum 30pc occupancy and enforcing mask wearing and social
distancing. All this, however, is contingent upon the lowering of the coronavirus infection
rate. If the crisis is not curbed, Mr Mahmood said, schools and universities will not
open.

There is no doubt that the closure of educational institutions has been a huge setback for
students all over the world. In Pakistan especially, where internet access in many areas is
limited, virtual classes have been tremendously difficult to hold if not impossible. For young
children, too, the disruption in learning has had consequences for their emotional well-being.
Therefore, the authorities’ concerns regarding school closure are legitimate. However, taking
any decision before the Eidul Azha holiday, which is a couple of weeks away, and
Muharram, may not be feasible as there is a fear that infection rates will rise during this
time. These fears are evidenced by the government’s repeated statements that Eid gatherings
and flouting of SOPs will undo the lower reported figures. The prime minister has appealed
to the public to mark Eid with simplicity and take precautionary measures. Unfortunately, no
SOPs are being enforced at gatherings in animal markets. As a result, one infectious disease
expert has predicted a frightening scenario of 5,000 new infections per day. If these
violations continue and infections rise, the government should, as it has already indicated,
reconsider its decision. Even when the time comes for schools to open — whenever that
may be — the planning needs to be meticulous.

Suggestions
Temperature checks, distancing, mask wearing and rigorous training of teachers on SOPs
will be essential. A safe system will have to be chalked out for those using public transport
to get to school. Children who are immuno-compromised or who live with a vulnerable
family member may have to be offered an alternative to physical attendance. Teaching staff
should be given paid sick leave, adequate PPE and quick testing. This is an uncertain time
ICEP Dawn Analysis
and uncharted territory for all educational institutions. However, authorities must support
students and faculty by providing and enforcing clear guidelines.

VOCABULARY DESCRIPTION

Mulling :think about (a fact, proposal, or request) deeply and at length.

Meticulous: showing great attention to detail; very careful and precise.
Flouting: openly disregard (a rule, law, or convention).
Contingent: dependent
PPE: Personal protective equipment is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments
or equipment designed to protect the wearer’s body from injury or infection.

ICEP Dawn Analysis

Yemen famine (extreme scarcity of food) | DAWN EDITORIAL

THERE is yet more grim news from Yemen, as the UN says the Arab state is once more on
the brink of famine. According to the World Food Programme, around 10m people face an
acute shortage of food and that the people’s suffering is “unimaginable”. Moreover, the
country, battered by over five years of war, is ill-prepared to face the coronavirus
pandemic. While the official tally says there are around 1,300 cases, experts warn the real
number may be over a million, as Yemen’s fragile health infrastructure is in no shape to give
accurate data. If hunger and disease were not enough, Yemenis live in the constant shadow
of death either from the skies, in the shape of Saudi-led bombardment of Houthi
positions, or fighting on the ground between multiple factions.

In the immediate future, the international community cannot let Yemen’s vulnerable
people starve to death. While the Covid-19 situation has greatly complicated matters,
funds, foodstuff and safe passage must be guaranteed so that immediate succour can be
provided to Yemenis, along with medical aid. But in the long run, there is only one workable
solution to Yemen’s myriad problems: bringing this horrific war to a swift close. While
truces have been called, and broken, it seems the world community has lost interest in
Yemen and its forsaken people. Saudi Arabia, the UK and the US have indeed pledged
large amounts of aid at a recent donors’ event for Yemen.

Suggestions
But if they really want to help the country, these states must declare an indefinite ceasefire,
and stop providing the weaponry that is helping prolong the war. Moreover, the principal
Yemeni actors — the government, the Houthis, the southern separatists — as well as their
primary foreign backers including the Saudis, the Iranians and the Emiratis, respectively,
must hammer out an agreement that can help end hostilities forthwith, ensure the integrity
and stability of Yemen, and give Yemenis a chance to rebuild their shattered country.

ICEP Dawn Analysis

 VOCABULARY DESCRIPTION

Battered: injured by repeated blows or punishment

Shadow of death: deep darkness : gloom.

Succour: assistance and support in times of hardship and distress.

Myriad: a countless or extremely great number of people or things.

Houthis: Iran is backing the Houthis to fight against a Saudi-led coalition of Gulf States fighting to
maintain government control of Yemen.

Forthwith: immediately; without delay.

Hammer out: to arrive at an agreement or solution after a lot of argument or discussion. “Eventually, a
deal was hammered out between the government and the opposition to hold new elections.”

Integrity: the state of being whole and undivided

ICEP Dawn Analysis

Pakistan’s Coronavirus Budget Has More Army Spending Than
Ever
|Foreign policy

Topic: In Pakistan, the Army Tightens Its Grip

As military expenditure soars in Pakistan despite an unprecedented economic catastrophe,
Khan’s power looks to be waning.
By Zuha Siddiqui

Soldiers keep watch as police seal off a neighborhood after some residents tested positive for
the coronavirus in Islamabad on April 30.

Pakistan has faced an unprecedented set of challenges this year—from a

locust invasion that threatened to infest 40 percent of the agrarian economy’s major crops to
a pandemic that brought business activity to a grinding halt, prompting layoffs, falling
household incomes, and a decline in purchasing power.

But when Prime Minister Imran Khan’s administration unveiled the federal budget for the
fiscal year 2020-2021 last month, a response to those calamities was nowhere to be seen.
The budget allocated 1.29 trillion rupees ($7.7 billion) to defense expenditure, an 11.8
percent increase from last year’s budget and almost 18 percent of the total budget.
Health, on the other hand, received 25 billion rupees ($148.6 million) in the central
budget. Even after provincial governments stepped in to allocate an additional 467
billion rupees ($2.7 billion), health spending totaled a third of the military budget. As
opposition Sen. Sherry Rehman said in a tweet, this is “not a national #budget for a
country facing a crisis.”

The latest budget would have been an apt time to push for much needed equitable
resource allocation and a bigger development budget—more than 40 million Pakistanis are
living in a state of food insecurity, and hospitals across the country are buckling as they
ICEP Dawn Analysis
cope with an influx of coronavirus patients. But Islamabad’s excessive defense funding, and
failure to account for the country’s already stressed health infrastructure, isn’t simply an
oversight. Rather, it is indicative of the military’s influence over the government and the
weak government’s reluctance to push back.

Despite poor testing, there have been nearly 240,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in
Pakistan and almost 5,000 deaths—figures scientists estimate are more likely in the millions
and tens of thousands respectively. Already, at least 5,000 health care workers have tested
positive for the coronavirus since the outbreak began, and 65 have died. At the same time,
growing mistrust and government-propagated misinformation—Khan and his aides
have routinely dismissed the coronavirus as the flu—have resulted in medical workers
being assaulted by frustrated patients. Khan runs a precariously balanced government
where his party holds only 46 percent of seats in the National Assembly and is reeling
from the shambolic aftereffects of a poorly managed coronavirus response—one of which
seems to be widening military influence in day-to-day government operations.

Armies have been played a critical role in emergency responses across the world: The
Australian state of Victoria called for military assistance after a spike in coronavirus cases in
June, and in Italy, Spain, and South Africa, soldiers patrolled the streets to enforce
lockdowns. But in Pakistan, where the military has long wielded immense power and
sometimes seized direct control, such efforts indicate more than civic mindedness. “I think
there’s an additional factor at play right now,” said Arif Rafiq, the president of New York-
based Vizier Consulting. “The Army is filling a void in areas in which it perceives Imran
Khan’s government and the civil administration to be weak.”

There are growing signs that control of the government is sliding fast out of Khan’s
hands. A host of retired and serving Army officers sit in prominent government roles, and
the military (along with the Inter-Services Intelligence, the country’s politically influential
and conservative intelligence service) has been overseeing the government’s coronavirus
response. It was the military that called for a countrywide lockdown on March 23, a
day after Khan opposed it. Retired Lt. Gen. Asim Saleem Bajwa is now the prime
minister’s communications advisor, and the National Command and Operation Centre
(NCOC) set up to manage the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic is run by
Army Lt. Gen. Hamood Uz Zaman Khan. Subsequently, the health ministry has been
relegated to a largely advisory role in decision-making, having to rely on institutions such
as the military-led NCOC and the National Disaster Management Authority, also run by
a general.

Undoubtedly, the military’s expanding footprint doesn’t bode well for the country’s feeble
democracy or its citizens, particularly since neither Khan’s government nor the military
seems to have paid heed to World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations. Official
numbers of coronavirus infections soared dramatically after Pakistan lifted its nationwide
lockdown on May 9, citing economic concerns—a move criticized by WHO and by the
country’s medical fraternity. In a letter addressed to the government in early June, WHO
recommended intermittent lockdowns of target areas, adding that the country’s health
system should be able to “detect, test, isolate and treat every case and trace every contact.”
(On Wednesday, the government finally announced it was imposing 227 smaller “smart
lockdowns.”) Now, many hospitals in the country are full. “Shockingly, even the specter of
hundreds of thousands of deaths is insufficient to convince the military and civilian
establishment to allocate a greater share of scarce public resources toward life-saving
welfare,” said Ammar Rashid, a public health researcher based in Islamabad. “As with
every other aspect of Pakistan’s pandemic response, cold calculations of power and
patronage have taken precedence over the critical health and economic needs of the public.”

ICEP Dawn Analysis

In a country where democracy has often been interrupted by military coups, it is ironic that a
government allegedly backed by the military (word on the street when Khan won election in
July 2018 was that he was the military’s favored candidate, a notion he was quick to deny) is
now fighting for survival. The budget debacle was followed by yet another catastrophic
scandal—just one month after a plane crash that killed 98 people, 150 out of 434 pilots
working for national carrier PIA were found to have “bogus or suspicious licenses.” On
June 28, Khan hosted a dinner at his residence for his advisors and parliamentarians that
read like a last hurrah. Over plates of pulao and mutton handi, he assured them that his
government would complete its term. Two days later, on the floor of the National Assembly,
however, Khan quoted Charles Dickens and hinted at his possible departure. “No one
remains in power forever,” he said.

For now, things remain uncertain in Islamabad. While there has been talk of a “minus one”
formula—suggesting Khan’s removal as prime minister—it is unclear how this will impact
his party’s already fragile National Assembly majority. But one conclusion is certain: Those
caught in the crossfire of the government’s waning power and the military’s gradual
attempts at taking control will be far removed from politics and the hallowed halls of the
National Assembly. With the festival of Eid-ul-Adha right around the corner, Pakistan is
likely to witness another surge of coronavirus cases—a catastrophe the country is not ready
to bear. In the southwestern city of Gujrat, Tamkenat Mansoor, a physician at a local public
hospital, is already sounding alarm bells. “Within a few weeks, our hospitals are going to
reach maximum capacity,” she said. “Eventually, the coronavirus is going to turn into
another case of polio for Pakistan. The world will have eradicated it, and we will be the
only ones still struggling.”

Zuha Siddiqui is a freelance journalist.

VOCABULARY ILLUSTRATION AND DESCRIPTION

Waning: (of a state or feeling) decrease in vigour or extent; become weaker.

Apt time: Apt time sometimes depends upon lapse of time; as, where a thing is required to be done at the
first term, or within a given time, it cannot be done afterwards.

Buckling: suffer a psychological collapse as a result of stress.

Precariously: in a way that is uncertain or dependent on chance. “a country poised precariously between
economic boom and social catastrophe”

Reeling: lose one’s balance

Relegated: assign an inferior rank or position to.

Bode well: (idm) bode well for (someone or something) To seem indicative of a favorable outcome. This
phrase is often used in the negative to suggest the opposite. Being late to a job interview does not bode
well for you getting hired.

Specter: threat

Caught in the crossfire: to be involved in a situation where people around you are arguingThe Health
Minister, who resigned today, claims she is an innocent victim caught in the crossfire of the current battle
over inflation.

Calamities: a disaster

ICEP Dawn Analysis

Indian navy in the Persian Gulf | Opinion
Daily times

Muhammad Ali Siddiqi wrote in Dawn that in 2003, former Indian Prime Minister Atal
Bihari Vajpayee whilst addressing a military conference emphasized on the expanding and
changing nature of India’s strategic interests in an increasingly globalized world. Though the
term “globalization” is yet being debated by many considering its validity in a post-COVID
world. But, Vajpayee stressed on the following “security environment ranges from the
Persian Gulf to Straits of Malacca”. In another instance, former Indian Navy Chief Arun
Prakash said, “India’s strategic relevance ranges from the Persian Gulf to the Strait of
Malacca”. The exact readiness can be seen in the US’s strategy on Indo-Pacific released last
year in June. Modi’s India has seen a resurgence of sorts.

Geo-strategic and geo-political importance of Persian Gulf

The Persian Gulf is the most crucial of all the water bodies having eight countries
connected with it – Iran sharing the entire eastern border, with Qatar and Saudi Arabia to the
west, Kuwait and Iraq to the North and the Southern side bordered by Oman and United
Arab Emirates (UAE). The common feature of all these countries is their natural resources.
But the Persian Gulf is important due to the presence of the Strait of Hormuz-as it carries
one-fifth of the world’s oil, making it one of the most significant shipping lanes. The region
is also fraught with regional and international tensions ranging from the global power
competition of US-China, which though not connected but is exacerbated by the recent
confrontation between the US and Iran. It carries a special significance for Pakistan and
India separately. Before the pandemic, and now in the midst of it, the Sino-American
undeclared cold war has gained an unprecedented speed.

India in Persian Gulf

ICEP Dawn Analysis
As has been regurgitated by many, from within the Indian strategic circle, Indian
aspirations to become a regional hegemon and also to acquire the status of a global
superpower require an unmitigated and an unhindered access to energy resources. Along
with this, Modi’s India has cemented a new ‘era’ of diplomatic clout especially with the
Gulf countries. It has fostered a new kind of relation with them. This is manifested from the
kind of support Modi and India have gained in the wake of the abrogation of Kashmir’s
status and the atrocities committed on the Indian Muslims. As an article, published on
Carnegie’s website titled “The Logic of the Rapprochement between India and the Gulf
States” discusses how the Arab monarchies have compensated for more oil under India’s
suspended trade ties with Iran. The Arab countries also bestowed Modi with civilian
honours, after the abrogation of Kashmir’s special status. Iran, out of these Persian Gulf
countries, criticized India for its treatment of Muslims.

Pakistan’s southern neighbourhood has not only been ignored but has also been left out of
the basic policy framework. A reinvigoration of sorts can be seen as Prime Minister
Imran Khan declared this year as the year of Blue Economy. With the China-Pakistan
Corridor (CPEC) and China continuing the development of the port even during the
pandemic, shows the significance of it. Due to this, the kind of threats that Pakistan faces
range from traditional/non-traditional threats to reorienting its ties with the Persian Gulf
nations, to changing the nature of the concept of ‘strategic depth.’

A TUSSLE BETWEEN CHINA AND INDIA, WITH CHINA OFFERING

GULF COUNTRIES A POSITION IN THE BELT -ROAD INITIATIVE AND
MODI’S DIPLOMATIC VENTURES , CAN CREATE DIPLOMATIC
AVENUES FOR PAKISTAN

Hybrid Threat

In March 2016, Kulbushan Jadav, a serving commander in the Indian Navy, was arrested
in Balochistan on charges of espionage, terrorism and sabotaging the CPEC. India took the

ICEP Dawn Analysis

case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) alleging that Pakistan had violated
International Law by not providing consular access to Jadav, fabricating that he took
premature retirement from the Indian Navy and was arrested from Pakistan’s southern
neighbour-Iran. ICJ, in 2019, rejected Indian appeals for his arrest and directed Pakistan to
review his death sentence and provide consular access. Jadav, operated under the alias
Hussain Mubarek Patel, working for the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). It is not
just one individual convicted of espionage in Balochistan, out of many, this is but one recent
case that came to light. Last in May, seven soldiers were killed in two separate incidents in
Balochistan. Pakistan has long sought international attention on Indian activities in the
violence torn province that has had the lowest socio-economic rankings in surveys. Even, in
the backdrop of this, Iranian and Pakistani grounds have been home to home grown and
cross border terrorism.

Strategic Depth and Maritime Security

Pakistan for more than seven decades now has masked itself in the illusion of ‘strategic
depth’ stemming from Afghanistan. The two variants of the concept,

i. militarily, in case of a confrontation with India, Pakistan could use Afghanistan as its
ground has been costing it its natural geographic advantages.
ii. The non-military version sells the idea of fostering relations with the Central Asian
Republics (CARs) to put Pakistan on the track of regional diplomacy and economic
development which ultimately can be utilized through Pakistan’s southern port
Gwadar, located in Balochistan.

In the changing geopolitical scenario, strategic depth can only be ensured once maritime
security can be given the due attention.

Role of Pakistan Navy

Akin to the Mughal rulers, who did not cater to the naval threat emanating from the sea,
paving way for the British, it left Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan with almost nothing to defend
the land with. Similarly, in 1971, the then Pakistani government failed to assess the same.

ICEP Dawn Analysis

 i. India having completed its “Nuclear Triad” with the patrolling of SSBN Arihant, is
another threat to the Pakistan Navy that not only needs indigenous technological
advancement but naval diplomacy.
ii. The development of the ports of Gwadar and Ormara, require the Pakistan Navy to
cooperate with the Gulf countries.

Although catering to 80 percent of the world’s oil trade, the Gulf region practically
does not have navies, and as can be seen from the past experiences (UAE calling the
abrogation of Kashmir as India’s internal matter, and inviting it to a conference in February)
itself is an issue that needs to include the cultivation of relations with these countries.

In particular, it can also be seen that the Iranian and Pakistani naval chiefs vowed to reaffirm
the naval cooperation in December, 2019 with a small naval exercise in January, 2020.
Pakistan though promised neutrality, in the US-Iran conflict, it however, requires a
focus on the Gulf countries, particularly Iran, to secure Gwadar (in lieu of CPEC) to
function to its full potential. On the other hand, India’s investments in Iran, in Chabahar,
and in Afghanistan, require a focus on Pakistan-Iran ties that would ultimately secure
Gwadar from any such threat in the future.

Countries, even the oil rich Gulf nations, would respond to the economic power in a post-
COVID world. A tussle between China and India, with China offering Gulf countries a
position in the Belt-Road Initiative and Modi’s diplomatic ventures, can create diplomatic
avenues for Pakistan. With the world economies already hitting a slump, Pakistan would not
only require the economic assistance of these states but regardless, its religious and sectarian
considerations would need to foster and reevaluate its diplomatic ties.

The writer is a freelancer

VOCABULARY ILLUSTRATION AND DESCRIPTION

Regurgitated: repeat (information) without analysing or comprehending it.

Abrogation: the repeal or abolition of a law, right, or agreement.

Reinvigoration: to give new or renewed strength or energy to (something or someone)

Espionage: the practice of spying or of using spies, typically by governments to obtain political and
military information

Sabotaging: deliberately destroy, damage, or obstruct (something), especially for political or military
advantage.

Fabricating: invent (something) in order to deceive

Slump: a sudden severe or prolonged fall in the price, value, or amount of something. “A slump in profits”

ICEP Dawn Analysis

What is Nuclear Triad?

Provide the nation with a

safe, secure, effective
and ready nuclear
deterrent force in order
to prevent against the
attacks
As explained above, the country must have the following capabilities for establishing nuclear triad.

Land – Land launched nuclear missiles

Sea – Submarines with missiles carrying nuclear warheads
Sky – Aircraft and Strategic bombers with nuclear missiles and bombs
SSBN Arihant
The Arihant class is a class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines being built
for the Indian Navy.

ICEP Dawn Analysis

Digital health | DAWN OPINION
Zofeen T. Ebrahim

The writer is a freelance journalist based in Karachi.

ON World Population Day as the Covid-19 pandemic rages on, upending lives and
lifestyles, there should be a realisation that healthcare providers have had to come up with
creative solutions to provide uninterrupted services to the most vulnerable populations,
including pregnant women and new mothers.

A disruption in family planning services and supplies can lead to untold tragedies. This
may result in a spike in unexpected pregnancies, unsafe abortions, pregnancy-related
complications and even maternal deaths. Launched just ahead of World Population Day, a
report by the UNFPA warns that if services and programmes for women remain closed for
six months, an additional 13 million girls may be forced into marriage between now and
2030.

While the state grappled with whatever semblance of an on-the-ground healthcare system it
had to battle the virus, the digital revolution quickly jumped into the fast lane. With social
distancing an important measure to contain the coronavirus, e-health became all the more
necessary to ensure safety of both healthcare providers and patients seeking medical advice.

i. Many physicians and private hospitals began offering consultations electronically

using videoconferencing services.
ii. Digital health applications that help find nearby doctors, offer home consultations,
order medicines, and even help find blood donors, were rolled out rapidly.

The pandemic has been a catalyst for tech solutions.

One silver lining to the pandemic has been the thousands of women doctors returning to the
field of medicine and resuming their practice. Sehat Kahani, a social enterprise founded in
2017, was running 26 clinics in low-income communities across Pakistan where a nurse
connected patients to a doctor via videoconferencing. Last year, they released an app
ICEP Dawn Analysis
through which users could reach a physician using a smartphone device. But it was not until
the pandemic that this app gained traction. On the one hand, it has provided a platform to
nearly 1,500 female doctors to practise medicine; on the other, it has alleviated the
suffering of nearly 35,000 patients.

Sehat Kahani is not alone, and many healthcare ventures are riding the digital wave.
Through a new reproductive health helpline, Pakistani women can seek advice and guidance
for their sexual and reproductive health over the phone in the privacy of their own homes.

Staying on the World Population Day theme of raising awareness of women’s and girls’
needs for sexual and reproductive health during the pandemic, this free phone service has
been initiated by a group of organisations that have long been working on women’s health.
They include the Association for Mothers & Newborns (AMAN), the Society of
Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Pakistan, the Population Council and the UNFPA.
While it isn’t the same as a face-to-face conversation in a clinic along with physical
examinations, the helpline enables a cohort of trained female gynaecologists and
obstetricians across Pakistan to provide women consultations about any reproductive and
sexual health issue.

The calls they are receiving range from issues of abnormal or irregular periods to advice on
what tests to get done in case of pregnancy, or what to do in case a pregnant woman tests
positive for Covid-19, or queries on post-abortion care.

Challenges to digital health care

Still rudimentary, it is not without its own set of challenges ranging from connectivity
issues due to slow internet speed, power outages, or some other technical glitch. Some
doctors have found counselling uneducated patients over phone challenging as they are
unable to prescribe them tests or medicines accurately.

Most doctors have also realised that it is an excellent filtering process to find out if a patient
needs to reach a facility at all or if the situation can be handled at home.

For the patient, this consultation means that she does not have to step out of her home for
hours on end or spend money on transport. Sitting in the privacy of her home, she can ask
whatever is bothering her without fear of being judged by the person accompanying her,
usually her husband, her mother-in-law or her mother.

While the pandemic may have shown us the way towards adopting technology at an
accelerated pace, it also presents an opportunity for policymakers to think of ways to
transform the health system beyond this moment.

According to DataReportal, in January 2020, Pakistan had 164.9m mobile connections, an

increase of 6.2 per cent from the previous year and which makes up 75pc of the total
population. There were 76.38m internet users and internet penetration stood at 35pc in the
same month.

Prospects of digitalizing health care

Clearly, e-health and telemedicine may prove to be critical solutions to overcoming

geographical, financial or other barriers for those seeking sexual and reproductive health
care in the rural and remote regions of Pakistan where healthcare access is severely limited
but mobile usage is on the rise.

ICEP Dawn Analysis

 VOCABULARY ILLUSTRATION AND DESCRIPTION

Upending: to affect drastically or radically

UNFPA: United Nations Fund for Population Activities, is a UN organization. The UNFPA says it “is the
lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every
young person’s potential is fulfilled”.
Semblance: the outward appearance or apparent form of something, especially when the reality is
different.
Silver lining: an advantage that comes from a difficult or unpleasant situation:“When things look black,
there’s always a silver lining.”

Cohort: a group of people with a shared characteristic.

Rudimentary: relating to an immature, undeveloped, or basic form.
Glitch: a sudden, usually temporary malfunction or fault of equipment. “a draft version was lost in a
computer glitch”
Sehat Kahani: Sehat Kahani is a social impact initiative by Community Innovation Hub that aims to
provide a basic health unit to underprivileged areas across Pakistan.

ICEP Dawn Analysis