ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s President Dr Arif Alvi on Monday stressed the need to spread awareness message about breast cancer to every house across the country to ensure early detection of the disease and reduce the mortality rate.
The president said that Pakistan had successfully handled the polio disease, and this experience also helped the government to successfully handle the COVID-19 pandemic later on. Now, he said, the nation was also driving the breast cancer awareness campaign very effectively.
Addressing the Breast Cancer Awareness Programme in Islamabad, he said that awareness about other key health problems, including stunting, mental health, and women’s health, should also be raised along with the breast cancer awareness drive as it was critical to keep women healthy for a healthy nation.
Highlighting the family system in Pakistan, the president said that a female was the key member of a family that must be kept healthy, financially empowered, and also be kept protected from any kind of harassment in society. He said empowering the women financially was linked with the overall economic growth of the country.
The president said that in Pakistan, 24 percent of the total population was suffering from mental diseases that were due to a number of causes, including financial issues.
President Alvi also emphasized the need to control the population by increasing the access of the people to long-term contraceptive products, as it was important for the development of the country both in terms of health and economy. Citing China’s example, he said the country’s rapid development was due to its special focus on health and education.
President Alvi maintained that due to the lack of resources in the country, prevention should be focused on avoiding chronic illness at a later stage.
First Lady Highlights Breast Cancer Issue
First Lady Begum Samina Alvi urged the women to learn how to make self-detection to ensure timely diagnosis of the illness. She said that women should make a habit of self-examination for five months every month to minimize the death rate.
Appreciating the role of media in the success of the drive, the First Lady said the media should continue its role in raising awareness about the disease.
Samina Alvi said that she initiated the breast cancer awareness drive five years ago, and now the topic that was considered a matter of discomfort and taboo to discuss was now being discussed at every level.
