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Questioning the rationale of imposing 18 per cent tax on the import of medical devices, equipment and life-saving machines, Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal on Saturday said the government would support Pakistani manufacturers producing quality medical equipment to reduce import dependence and promote exports.
Speaking at a conference titled ‘Boosting Medical Device Development in Pakistan’ held during the concluding day of the 23rd Health Asia International Exhibition and Conferences at the Karachi Expo Centre, he said the country needed to make local manufacturing a central part of its health and industrial policy.
The conference was organised by the Saman-e-Shifa Foundation under the theme, ‘From Import Dependency to Local Innovation’, and was attended by representatives of the health ministry, Drugs Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap), hospitals, manufacturers, academics and health professionals.
Kamal said Pakistan could not continue spending valuable foreign exchange on products that local engineers and manufacturers had the capacity to produce, provided they met required standards of quality, safety and performance.
He said the tax burden on imported life-saving equipment required rational consideration, particularly when the government was seeking to make medical technologies accessible and encourage local industrial investment.
“If Pakistani manufacturers produce quality medical equipment, it can initially save valuable foreign exchange and, in the long run, increase exports and earn foreign exchange for the country,” the federal minister said.
He, however, stated that local production should not be encouraged at the cost of patient safety, saying medical devices, particularly equipment used in critical-care units, operation theatres and diagnostic laboratories, must comply with recognised quality standards and regulatory requirements.
He said the Federal Ministry of National Health Services and Drap had been introducing reforms to facilitate business, speed up regulation and make medical-device registration more transparent and fully digital with a target of completing the process within 21 days.
Referring to the Pakistan-China pharmaceutical and healthcare B2B conference, he said agreements worth $663 million and memorandums of understanding (MoUs) of around $1.2 billion had been signed, and the government wanted this investment to bring technology transfer, local manufacturing, jobs and exports rather than simply increase imports.
Prof Dr Syed Shahid Noor, chairman of the Saman-e-Shifa Foundation, said Pakistan imported medical devices worth close to $3 billion every year while exports from the sector remained negligible.
He said the country had already shown that it could produce a range of quality medical devices, including ventilators and other electromedical equipment approved by Drap, but local manufacturers had not received a consistent policy framework or assured market access.
“Pakistan does not have a technology problem, it has a policy gap,” Dr Noor said, adding that local industry needed a national policy that supported quality certification, investment, research, regulatory facilitation and public-sector procurement.
He said manufacturers investing billions of rupees in plants, equipment and technical capacity could not recover their investment if government hospitals continued to rely almost entirely on imported equipment despite the availability of Drap-approved local alternatives.
The foundation and industry representatives recommended a national medical device policy, including a 30 to 50 per cent minimum procurement quota for Drap-approved made-in-Pakistan devices in public sector and military hospitals.
They also sought rationalisation of duties and taxes on locally manufactured devices, raw materials, components and manufacturing machinery, a fast-track DRAP approval window for indigenous products, and a dedicated fund to support small and medium enterprises, research, scale-up and international certification.
Dr Abdul Bari Khan, founder and chief executive of the Indus Hospital and Health Network, said local manufacturing could help hospitals control costs and improve availability of equipment, especially institutions providing free health care.
However, he stressed that affordability could not be achieved by compromising on quality. “The device in an intensive care unit has to perform every time,” he said, adding that hospitals would support locally manufactured products meeting international safety and performance standards.
An MoU was signed between the Saman-e-Shifa Foundation and Pakistan Electromedical Equipment Manufacturers and Distributors Association to promote made-in-Pakistan electro-medical equipment, technology transfer and collaboration among manufacturers, hospitals, regulators and academic institutions.
Health Asia organiser Dr Zakiuddin Ahmed said the exhibition had become an important platform for connecting Pakistani healthcare businesses with international companies, technologies and investors.
The three-day exhibition featured more than 600 booths across five halls and drew health professionals, manufacturers, hospital managers, academics and delegates from Pakistan and abroad.
Its conferences and technical sessions focused on medical-device development, digital health, patient safety, public health, medical tourism, pharmaceutical marketing and new diagnostic and treatment technologies. An experience zone at the medical-device conference showcased locally developed equipment and innovations.
Awards
The heads of Drap and the Prime Minister Sehat Card, along with leaders of major public and private healthcare institutions, researchers, clinicians and digital innovators, were honoured at the 3rd National Health Awards during the 23rd Health Asia exhibition.
The awards covered public health reform, hospital management, research, patient safety, digital health, telemedicine, pharmaceutical marketing, manufacturing and journalism.
Journalists Hamid ur Rehman and Muhammad Anwer Khan also received Outstanding Health Journalist awards.
Dr Obaidullah, Drap chief executive officer, (CEO) was named Outstanding Public Health Reformer, while Muhammad Arshad Qaimkhani, CEO of the Prime Minister Sehat Card under the Prime Minister’s National Health Programme, received the Distinguished Visionary Leader award.
Dr Farhat Abbas, CEO of Aga Khan University Hospital and Health System, Pakistan, received the Outstanding Hospital CEO award. Prof Dr Tariq Mahmood of the Patients’ Aid Foundation at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre was recognised as the Most Impactful Health NGO Leader.
Prof Dr Syed Jamal Raza, executive director of the Sindh Institute of Child Health and Neonatology; Prof Dr Farhan Essa Abdullah, CEO of Dr Essa Laboratory and Diagnostic Centre; and Prof Dr Masood Hameed Khan, professor emeritus at the Dow University of Health Sciences, received Distinguished Visionary Healthcare Leader awards.
The late Prof Dr Tahir Shamsi, who pioneered bone marrow transplantation in Pakistan, received the same award posthumously. Prof Dr Abdul Basit, chairman of the Health Research Advisory Board, was named Distinguished Health Researcher, while HealthRAB was recognised as the Most Impactful Research Initiative.
Prof Dr Omer Awab Khan, managing director of Riphah Healthcare Services, was named Outstanding Patient Safety Leader. Dr Babar Hasan, professor and chair of cardiothoracic sciences at the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation, received the award for the Most Impactful Patient Safety Initiative at SIUT.
Dr Asif Imam, chairman and founder of SINA Healthcare Systems, was recognised as a Distinguished Digital Health Transformation Leader. Meri Sehat co-founder Babar Rashid Khan was honoured for an Innovative Remote Patient Monitoring Solution, Novadoc co-founder Omar Manya was named a Distinguished Health Informatician and Oladoc CEO Abid Zuberi received the Outstanding Telemedicine Project award.
PharmEvo CEO Syed Jamshed Ahmed was named Distinguished Pharma Marketing Leader. Dr Danish Saeed, Dr Asad Ullah Roomi and Dr Hasham Khan received Expat Physician Leader awards.
Kamion Pharma received the Rising Star Award, while Uniferoz (Pvt) Limited was honoured for Export Achievement and Manufacturing Excellence in Consumables. Monitor Health International received the Innovative Solution award and Sind Medical Stores was recognised for its Diversified Portfolio.
News Desk adds: The 3rd International Conference on Medical Tourism and Healthcare Accreditation was told on Friday that Pakistan is putting in place a connected set of visa, insurance, equipment and payment policies to position the country as a destination for international patients, with a single national portal under development to carry the entire patient journey.
Speaking at the conference panel discussion, Prof Dr Farhan Essa Abdullah, Chairman of Dr Essa Health Services (Pvt) Ltd and a member of the National Health Tourism Working Group constituted by the Federal Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination, said policy work now extends well beyond the incoming patient.
“Visa policy is being made, and not only for patients,” he said. “Policy is being made for hospitals. For doctors who are willing to come to Pakistan, along with their technicians, to conduct treatments here. For the medical equipment they bring with them. And insurance companies are coming to Pakistan. That is what an ecosystem means, and trust is being built under the leadership of Arshad Qaimkhani.”
He said a national portal is being developed that will bring the separate pieces into one place. “There is a portal being made that will have each and everything in it, including visa and insurance,” he said. “The money side is being worked on as well, how funds come into Pakistan and how they go out, including doctors’ earnings. With the support of the Federal Ministry of Health and the SIFC, things are moving much further ahead than people realise.”
Prof Dr Farhan Essa Abdullah said quality remained the foundation of the effort, adding: “Heal in Pakistan is coming soon.”
