Objective model: Philanthropy and the pharmaceutical sector
A look into MediBa nk; a zero-donati on-based trust. A large number of medical stores throughout the country especially in small cities and towns are manned by unqualified people and in some cases, even uneducated personnel, who only recognise drugs by symbols or digital numbers drawn on prescriptions by the issuing doctors who are an integral part of the medical mafia.
One doctor in Gakkhar Mandi, a small city in Gujranwala, is known for running a dispensary adjacent to his clinic, staffed by his uneducated brother. Furthermore, there have been frequent scandals around drugs.
In this backdrop, a bureaucrat called Javaid Nisar Syed, set up a trust in Lahore with five stated objectives: To disburse free medicines to the disadvantaged, supply drugs to NGOs on cost prices, provide medical facilities through ICTs; undertake joint ventures with NGOs and enter into public private partnerships; and to create awareness amongst masses around health issues.
Launched last year, the MediBank trust has started its operations in a number of cities across the country. Given the passion of its founder and numerous other examples of altruism and commitment to social responsibility in the country, one must hope that this venture will break the vicious circle of trust deficit in the health sector in Pakistan.
“The real value proposition of MediBank is not in its own operating model but the impact it can create through other social sector organisations,” said Saleem Ranjha.
Through Wan Miana Rural Development Programme, Saleem Ranjha has already created an integrative platform through which microfinance, free education, sustainable and progressive farming, health services, and production of solar energy are coordinated for productive and distributive efficiency.
