President Inaugurates ICON 2020 Conference

KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Jan, 2020 ) :President Dr. Arif Alvi Friday said there was a link between health conditions of a nation and its productivity. The stunting growth of children at their early age prevent them from being productive members of a society and it was very unfortunate that almost 40% of our children were suffering from malnutrition.

President Dr. Alvi made these remarks during the inauguration of Indus Health Network's (IHN) flagship health conference "ICON 2020 - Building Bridges for Better HealthCare" here on Friday.

He said there was an inextricable link between poor health conditions including malnutrition and non-productivity of people in the society.

He said Pakistan had a huge stock of philanthropists, particularly in Karachi, who had intervened in health sector. The foundation and successful operation of the Indus Health Network was the living example of the passion of philanthropy.

While showing concern on excessive emphasis on curative aspect of healthcare system, President Dr. Arif Alvi exhorted on preventive side of the disease treatment.

He said depression was increasingly emerging ailment. The frenzy of depression could be best treated through emotional tools of affection, sympathy and care.

While appreciating the services of IHN, the president said Public-Private Partnership was the government's highest priority to lessen the healthcare burden.

The Indus Health Network has been a key partner in this process by bringing technical expertise, technology and resources to government hospitals and Primary care facilities.

He also congratulated Dr. Abdul Bari Khan, CEO IHN and his team for extending health facilities to the benefit of the people.

Indus Hospital Network's CEO Dr. Abdul Bari Khan in his address said that IHN was engaged in policy dialogues and research. ICON 2020 would serve as a forum to engage healthcare professionals from different fields and geographical areas.

It aims at disseminating research-based recommendations and synthesizing current healthcare scenario along with identifying challenges for the future.

On the other hand, the conference highlighted initiatives taken by the Indus Hospital to address healthcare challenges in Pakistan by bringing together disparate and like-minded institutions and individuals.

ICON 2020 is aligned with the government of Pakistan's commitment towards United Nations (UN)'s Sustainable Development Goal No. 3, which focuses on good health and well-being for all.

ICON 2020 is a biennial conference and is the fifth of series. The conference is attended by notable delegates from across the globe.