LARKANA, Dec 20: Participants of the ninth annual Chandka Medical College international symposium’s concluding session expressed their concern over the little amount of research being conducted at the universities’ level and called for grant of autonomous status to the Higher Education Commission (HEC).

The principal of the Chandka Medical College (CMC) and chairman of the symposium, Prof Sikandar Ali Shaikh, told the newsmen that the moot urged the government and the administrations of medical universities across the country to concentrate on original research on various diseases for the benefit of the masses.

The participants were of the view that appointment and selection of candidates and induction of faculty for local and foreign scholarships should be strictly done on merit. The three-day symposium on “Medical research vital for elevating health standard of masses” in its recommendations urged the Sindh government to take practical steps for the establishment of Benazir Bhutto medical university, Larkana, like land acquisition, provision of seed money and approval of PC-I by the federal government. It urged the government to allocate funds for Dental College, Larkana, and annual development programme of the CMC.

Prof H.R. Ahmed of the Ziauddain Medical University in his paper said that merit, originality and transparency badly lacked in medical research in Pakistan. He regretted that medical institutions were keeping research at the bottom of their priorities and proposed that the proposed Benazir Bhutto medical university should focus on undertaking standard research.

Prof Bunyad Haidar, chairman, faculty of cardiology, University of New Jersey, stressed the need for use of drugs based on new research for cardiac patients. He called for undertaking indigenous research as patterns of disease varied from area to area.

The treatment of diabetes and hypertension could be cheaper and easier provided the population should be armed with awareness, he said.

He said that new studies depicted that the average age in the US was 78 years while in Pakistan it was 45 to 54. The average age in Pakistan was decreasing as both hypertension and diabetes mellitus had attained epidemic proportions, he added.

Prof Ashraf Ganatra from the Dow University of Health Sciences spoke about cleft-lip scenario in Sindh. Stressing the need for training doctors in the field of repairing this disability, he said that such trainings should be convened with a focus on overcoming the disorder. He said that the medical universities should take lead in it and arrange training programmes.

He claimed that this abnormality could be decreased, which was on the rise in Sindh. He suggested holding of regular camps for surgeries.

Dr Abdul Rauf from Memorial University Hospital, Canada, and Dr Zareen Siddiki from Medical School of Perth, Australia, read out papers about creativity in medical education, transient ischemic attack and the role of thromobolysis.

Speaker Sindh Assembly Nisar Ahmed Khuhro had on Friday inaugurated the symposium. A video film titled “A tribute to Benazir Bhutto” prepared by Dr Inayat Magsi was screened covering various aspects and achievements of her life.