The responsibility for Pakistan's deteriorating healthcare system largely falls on government officials managing the crisis. However, citizens also share part of the blame. A combination of increasingly sedentary lifestyles, unhealthy eating habits, misplaced taxes, administrative neglect, and a focus on treatment over prevention has left Pakistani children highly vulnerable.
Tax on Sweetened Beverages Proposed
Recently, health professionals and civil society organizations lobbied for a 40 percent tax on all sweetened beverages. The following day, Health Minister Mustafa Kamal revealed that nearly 10 million Pakistani children aged five to 15 are currently living with diabetes, highlighting the urgency of such measures.
Children Not at Fault
The sick children suffering from chronic conditions are not to blame. They are simply succumbing to childhood naivety by increasing screen time, reducing physical activity, and consuming junk food and readily available soft drinks, juices, and limcas. Unaware of the consequences, they are embedding themselves in a system plagued by shortages of insulin and blood glucose test strips—a system overwhelmed by rising patient numbers and a strained budget.
Role of Non-Profit Organizations
Non-profit organizations like 'Meethi Zindagi' support over 1,200 children across 140 cities in Pakistan through an Insulin Support Programme. However, regional conflicts significantly threaten their supply, underscoring the need to shift from treatment to prevention.
Call for Collective Action
Both the state and citizens must work together to confront this epidemic. Children with diabetic family members should be tested early for predisposition. Subsequently, the government and parents must encourage and support a healthy lifestyle for children, emphasizing nutrition and physical activity. Many such diseases are preventable, and countless patients wish they had the chance to prevent them.
