3DEC 2013

VOL.29
Pakistan

Celebrating 10th Anniversary of Otsuka Welfare Clinic

Otsuka Pakistan Ltd. C.E.O., Mr. Abid Hussain welcoming guests
Dr. Nargis Habibi, OWC medical officer (left) and Ms. Naveeda Khanum, OWC pharmacist (right)

Otsuka Pakistan Ltd. held a ceremony in Islamabad on December 3rd to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Otsuka Welfare Clinic (OWC), which was founded in Peshawar, Pakistan in order to provide health care to Afghan refugees. About 100 guests, including the Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, Mr. Hiroshi Inomata, attended the ceremony.

When the conflict in Afghanistan sent over a million refugees over the Pakistan border a decade earlier, many companies donated money for their care in Peshawar. But more often than not, those aids did not reach the hands of the needy. Chairman Akihiko Otsuka asked himself what can be done to directly assist the refugees, who were mainly women and children. Mr. Otsuka decided to build a clinic in Peshawar offering free medical care for those who left everything behind when they fled Afghanistan.

Ms. Naveeda Khanum one of the attendees at the 10th Anniversary Celebration event has been with OWC for ten years as a pharmacist. She said, "Otsuka Welfare Clinic is providing the refugees the best services available as they are not getting these types of services anywhere else in Peshawar, in Pakistan."

Road leading to Otsuka Welfare Clinic in Peshawar
Long lines outside of Otsuka Welfare Clinic waiting for the much needed medical care

On the first day Otsuka Welfare Clinic opened, only 7 patients visited the clinic. Through repeated visits by clinical staff to each refugee camp to build trust with the locals and publicize the clinic's activities, the clinic has grown to the point where it is now seeing about 150 patients every day. In the 10 years since the clinic opened, it has treated more than 700,000 people in all.

OWC Female doctor giving a child a medical check up

Because many of the patients are female, there are female doctors in residence at the clinic as well. When treating Afghan refugees, language is critical for mutual understanding, and the clinic needs to have doctors than can speak not only Urdu, the language spoken in Pakistan, but also Pashto and Dari, the languages spoken in Afghanistan . The female physicians that work at the clinic can speak all of these languages. Today there are still 1~1.2 million refugees living in Pakistan. The refugees still do not have access to appropriate medical care.

When the clinic was opened, it was initially expected that it cease operations after about 5 years. However, because of the conditions in the area, the clinic has continued its activities for 10 years. Given that corporate support for refugees normally ends after a short time, Otsuka Welfare Clinic which has continued to directly support refugees for a long period of time providing not only treatment, but also drugs, free of charge has a good reputation among the local community.

Under Otsuka Pharmaceutical's corporate motto of "Otsuka - people creating new products for better health worldwide", Otsuka will continue to develop businesses that make it its mission to support the health of people everywhere in the world, and will continue pursuing the vision of improving health and contributing to local societies as a health care company.

Click here to watch the highlights of the speech of Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, Mr. Hiroshi Inomata at the event

His Excellency Mr. Hiroshi Inomata in his speech as Chief Guest applauded all those who are working at Otsuka Welfare Clinic as well as those who are supporting their cause and praised them highly. He also appreciated the role of Otsuka Pakistan in continuous running of this clinic for patients coming from Afghan refugees and local residents.