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Acupuncture Congress opens

RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Social Welfare and Women Development, Ms Shaheen Atiq-ur-Rehman, inaugurated a one-day 'Acupuncture Congress' at Awina-e-Iqbal here on Sunday.

A large number of experts in acupuncture attended the congress, organised by Acupuncture Society of Pakistan.

The minister urged the doctors and health experts to play their role with honesty for the service and welfare of the ailing community.

She said that the experts whether they were allopaths. homoeopath, Unani Tabib, psychiatrists, acupuncturists, or whatever profession of medical science they belonged to, the service to the ailing community must be their top priority.

She said that in the recent past due to environmental pollution in the cities the rate of disease had increased rapidly, while the people do not have enough money for their medical treatment. This situation was even more baffling in rural areas of the country, she observed.

Shaheen said that the government alone cannot resolve the medical problems of the people, and in this regard, needs the help of private sector. The minister said as many as 4,000 social welfare organisations in the private sector are functioning across the province. Likewise, welloff people and philanthropists are running hundreds of hospitals in Punjab whose performance in service to humanity was commendable.

The minister gave the assurance to the organisers of the congress of all-out help of her government in making the acupuncture method of treatment popular among the masses.

Earlier, the Coordinator of the Congress, Dr. Syed Abbas Iqbal, presented his address of welcome and highlighted the objectives of the Congress.