Pakhtuns at the mercy of quacks
Asif Khan Turk
After terrorism and other hardcore issues, now the residents of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are at the verge of extreme disastrous situation due to the presence of a large number of quacks in the province, putting the precious lives of the people in danger while the authorities are calmly sleeping which is a big embarrassment for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government to have a huge departmental setup but the quacks are openly playing with the public lives without any check or regulation.
If one visits the provincial capital Peshawar, a considerable number of quacks may be seen everywhere in the city. A good example is the historic Khyber Bazaar located near the Qissa Khwani Bazaar where the so-called clinics of the dozens of quacks can be viewed, who are practicing dentistry without any fear of the authorities. Similarly, other parts of the city, especially the suburbs are also full of quacks who practice medicine in the name of Unani Tibb, Ayurveda, Homeopathy and Allopathy but the fact is they even don’t know the definitions of the aforementioned fields of medical treatment but just giving doses of steroids and other chemical substances to the uneducated ailing community.
As the different parts of the provincial metropolis have a large number of illegal medical clinics, hence, almost all the districts of the province also have such unauthorized healthcare setups. The number is not calculated as there is no system on government or private level so far to figure out the situation of quackery but reading and analyzing various reports and news stories on the internet I have arrived at the conclusion that the number of quacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa might be 20,000 plus which in fact, is not an ordinary figure.
Continuing the discussion, a very shocking element in this context is the wide use of FM radio in the different areas, especially the villages of KP by the quacks. Almost 90 percent local radio channels just for a very tiny amount promote these fake doctors and don’t verify or check the credibility, authenticity and reliability of their ads but play role along with these quacks in creating the mess. Making accountable all these radio platforms is also a need of the hour to stop the coverage and publicity of the menace of quackery.
It is worth mentioning that the lack of awareness and education as well as poverty, low income and weak purchase power make the people an easy target of the predators (quacks) which sometimes even destroy and end the innocent lives with their trial and error method of treatment. Apart from this, quackery also leads to the cause of various health complications and the spread of multiple dangerous diseases like hepatitis and AIDS among the people.
Hence, it is a dire need of the time that the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa should take this problem seriously and awake the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Care Commission from too much long hibernation as enough is enough and now it is the right time to address the challenge of unauthorized medical practice in the province, otherwise this cancer will become huge and incurable in the upcoming days.
So, the provincial government should pay its due attention to the issue by taking visionary, effective, firm and sustainable steps to root out the menace of illegal medicine practice in a well-managed and organized way. In this regard, the quack-run clinics and unlicensed treatment centers should be closed permanently while all those non-qualified, non-professional and untrained persons should be dealt with an iron hand who practice any kind of medicine.
Beside this, strong and effective awareness should be created in society and the public, particularly the people from less educational background should be educated not to avail the services of fake healthcare practitioners as it is not only a high risk to their own lives but also a huge risk to the entire humanity.
Furthermore, primary and secondary healthcare units and facilities should also be more strengthened and developed throughout the province, particularly at the far-flung and remote areas to discourage the culture of quackery and provide a reasonable and healthy alternative to the patients.
The writer is the Editor of Sunrise Today and President of the Science Journalism Society of Pakistan. He can be reached at: asif1015@yahoo.com.
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