Pakistan Addressing Lack Of Research

Pakistan's government will address the issue of the lack of indigenous research in the medical and pharmaceutical industries, said an assistant to the country's Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto. Reported in the Pakistan Times, the assistant noted that the first step has already been taken with the recent establishment of a close working relationship between the Ministry of Health and the Pakistan Medical Research Council.

An amount equal to around $1.2 million will be collected from profit-making pharmaceutical companies for the setting-up of pharmaceutical research projects, while the MoH has already started utilizing funds for three drug research projects.

The Pakistan government is to spend 2.36 billion crore ($682.0 million) this year on primary health care programs. The government is also implementing a radical preventive health program, as well as child immunization campaigns against malaria and hepatitis A and B.