Pakistan and China have agreed to step up cooperation on healthcare under the CPEC, using cervical cancer screening technology, according to a report published by China Economic Net (CEN).
The Landing will provide artificial intelligence-assisted diagnostic technology for cervical cancer screening program. According to the MoU signed between the two countries, Landing will conduct free screening service of cervical cancer for 10,000 women in Pakistan. Besides, it will establish cervical cancer screening laboratories at medical universities and hospitals in major cities and set up a cervical cancer screening platform to serve people across the country. “Using Landing’s cervical cancer screening technology to serve Pakistani sisters will help save many lives,” said Dr Sun Xiaorong, a Chinese medical scientist and chairperson of Wuhan Landing Medical Hightech Co, Ltd (Landing).
It is learnt that there are some 45 million women who need cervical cancer screening in Pakistan. However, the current screening coverage is far away from the government’s target. A total of 26 Pakistani students from Wuhan University took relevant training at Wuhan Landing Medical High-tech Co., Ltd in Hubei province China.
The shortage of professionals and laboratories in cervical cancer monitoring is a common problem faced by developing countries, said Moin ul Haque, the Pakistani Ambassador to China while recently visiting Landing. “Landing’s high-quality and low-cost cervical cancer screening service can provide a solution to these problems in Pakistan as we have made successful practice in China’s rural areas,” said Sun.
According to Sun, traditionally, a doctor can screen on average 100 cell samples a day through microscopes. Now, Landing’s robot can screen at least 35,000 samples a day. Sun said, “As a doctor and female, I know that a diagnosis is not just a test result, as it matters to a woman’s life and a family’s wellbeing.” “Pakistan, the iron brother of China, needs this kind of large-scale screening service. I can help with that. I hope to use the advanced technologies to help Pakistani women prevent and cure the disease,” she said. “It will not only benefit more women, but also boost health care and other related industries’ development in Pakistan. I am willing to do my contributions to the health cooperation, people-to-people exchanges under CPEC and China-Pak friendship,” she added.
So far, Pakistan’s Ministry of National Health Services Regulations and Coordination has chosen four hospitals to implement the Landing cervical cancer screening program. “By the end of this year, another one hospital will join in. By 2022 end, Landing will land in totally 19 hospitals in Pakistan,” she said.
