By Sher Bano 27 January 2021
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) is among Pakistan’s highly reputed Research and Development (R&D) organizations. Over the years, it has significantly contributed towards sustainable socio-economic development. Furthermore, along with its substantial contribution to overcoming the ever-increasing regional security threats, it remains the torchbearer for guaranteeing sustainable development in all spheres of life. The use of nuclear technology in the health sector has remained one of the top priorities of the PAEC. Being an underdeveloped country, Pakistan has been facing various hurdles inefficient cancer care in the past due to the lack of training facilities, shortage of workforce, unawareness, absence of infrastructure, and low spending on cancer treatment and prevention. In this regard, PAEC has played a fundamental role in overcoming such obstacles by establishing various medical centers and providing state of the art diagnostic and treatment. These facilities are available either at the subsidized rates or are completely free of cost for the general public.
PAEC has established 18 Atomic Energy Commission’s Cancer Hospitals (AECHs) to date in four provinces providing diagnostic and treatment facilities, whereas the 19th hospital is under construction in Gilgit. Since cancer treatment is costly and the general public cannot afford such facilities, PAEC has been providing facilities at discounted rates or completely free of cost to nearly 85% of the cancer patients. In addition to these, the construction of multiple Cancer Patients Welfare Societies and Pharmacies, mobile breast care clinics, Pakistan’s registration in WHO/IAEA PACT (Program of Action for Cancer Therapy) are some of the other milestones that have been accomplished by PAEC. In the ongoing global pandemic of COVID-19, these hospitals helped the government fulfill the needs of patients affected by Corona besides providing therapeutic and diagnostic facilities to cancer patients. All PAEC hospitals continued the cancer patients’ treatment during the days of pandemic when even the tertiary care hospitals had to suspend these facilities temporarily. These remained the last ones to close down the OPDs. Pakistan has received COVID-19 testing equipment worth 100,000 Euros from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on special request of PAEC. These include; BSL (Biohazard Safety Level) level-3 cabinets, ‘Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction’ (RT-PCR), and testing kits and paraphernalia order to build corona testing labs. PAEC Chairman Mr. Muhammad Naeem even sent DG IAEA Rafael Mariano Grossi a letter of gratitude for his support to Pakistan in the difficult times of pandemic.
One of the goals of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission hospitals is disseminating knowledge to the general public and spreading awareness about cancer that can be cured if it is diagnosed at the early stages. For this purpose, various events such as workshops, seminars, conferences, and symposiums are being organized in collaboration with medical colleges, NGOs, universities, Cancer Patients Welfare Societies to spread cancer awareness. Other than that, PAEC hospitals have been involved in various other activities such as arranging walks for cancer awareness, delivering lectures at colleges and universities, displaying banners, and distributing informative brochures /leaflets.
PAEC’s nuclear medical centers are also involved in international collaborations through IAEA, WHO, IRC, UICC with the developed countries. PAEC provides its doctors and scientists access to international organizations and institutes. This gives them opportunities to participate in various international training programs and attend conferences and events to keep themselves updated with the changes taking place in the medical field. Though cancer research is complicated to conduct anywhere, in underdeveloped countries, this challenge has increased considerably. The PAEC hospitals, NILOP, and PIEAS, are actively involved in research related to cancer and other infectious diseases. Pakistan has become an associate member of ‘CERN,’ which is a European Organization for Nuclear Research, due to PAEC scientists, researchers, and technicians’ efforts. Based on such strong credentials, now Pakistani researchers and scientists actively participate in the research activities organized by IAEA and CERN. IAEA also provides technical support to Pakistan for capacity building to apply innovative and advanced nuclear technologies and research and development. Pakistan is also a founding member of (SESAME) ‘Synchrotron light for Experimental Science and Application in the Middle East.’ Synchrotron light is an essential tool in basic and applied sciences and is used for experimental purposes. Hence the contributions of all the research and development institutes that are functioning under PAEC, such as ‘PIEAS,’ ‘NIBGE,’ ‘PINSTECH,’ ‘NIAB,’ ‘CHASCENT,’ and ‘KINPOE’ is commendable.
Summarizing it all, the sustained efforts of PAEC to overcome the challenges related to oncology and provide healthcare education has had a tremendous impact on reducing the mortality and morbidity associated with such diseases. All of the contributions made by the PAEC show its strong commitment to providing the best way to deal with cancerous diseases in a cost-effective manner. To attain sustainable human resource development for patient-related services, continuous training and education are fundamental ingredients that PAEC has ensured by encouraging its scientists and doctors to participate in international workshops. Finally, with the growing demand, PAEC aims further to enhance early detection, cancer prevention, develop a national cancer registry, and more national and international collaborations for training and research. This would remain a strong manifestation of Pakistan’s commitment towards peaceful uses of nuclear technology and energy in the years to come.
The writer is working as a Research Affiliate at the Strategic Vision Institute (SVI), a non-partisan think-tank based in Islamabad, Pakistan.