KARACHI: In the third quarter of the financial year 2023-24, the SHCC Anti-Quackery Unit conducted successful operations against ‘Quacks’ in a joint-team collaboration with the District Government and law enforcement agencies. Between January and March 2024, over 822 inspections and enforcement visits were successfully conducted across the province.
During this period, 528 quackery outlets were shut down and sealed under the law, with 187 warning notices issued to non-compliant healthcare establishments (HCEs). To further check compliance with the laws, 107 additional inspections were conducted to improve vigilance and oversight as per SHCC Regulations.
Increased efforts were made to strengthen stakeholder engagement between legal and law enforcement teams, where ‘Targeted-Joint-Operations” were conducted by SHCC Directorate of Anti-Quackery and DC office teams on united fronts supported by law enforcement agencies, as per law.
Last year, there were over 7300 inspections and enforcement actions taken by the SHCC Anti-Quackery Unit. Strict actions were taken where 2184 quack outlets were sealed and 2159 warning notices were issued against various legal violations. 1876 practitioners were found in compliance with the law. In addition, over 1114 counter vigilance visits were conducted by Anti Quackery teams.
In a fast-track move to improve the sustainability of Anti-Quackery Operations, SHCC Director Anti-Quackery S. Zeeshan A Shah engaged with District Health Offices (DHOs), with the support of District Deputy Commissioners, to gain access to accurate taluka-wise ‘Quack Data’. This will further aim to cut down the recurrence of HIV cases through a province-wise hunt for unchecked and unregistered healthcare establishments, to help win the fight against ‘Quackery’.
Key support came through the District Government, IG Office, and Health Ministry to ensure ‘increased operations under a wider scope’ using authenticated data intelligence, backed up with public awareness through the Anti-Quackery Drive across the province.
