KARACHI: The 33rd International Conference on Pediatric Surgery was inaugurated on Friday at the Aga Khan University (AKU) under the theme “Optimising Paediatric Surgical Care: Collaborative Strategies in Resource-Limited Settings.” It also featured the 10th International Conference of the Federation of Associations of Paediatric Surgeons of SAARC.
The event was organized by the Association of Pediatric Surgeons of Pakistan (APSP).
Keynote speaker Dr Farhat Moazzam presented data revealing a wide and uneven distribution of Pediatric Surgery residents across Pakistan’s provinces, based on figures from the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP). The analysis highlighted a deep-seated gender disparity, with only one province showing a female majority in this specialization.
The findings indicated that Sindh stands out as the only province where female residents constitute the majority. In Sindh, 57 percent of the 74 residents are females, resulting in a male-to-female ratio of 0.76:1.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) recorded the highest gender gap, with 97 percent of its 34 residents being male, translating to an acute ratio of 33:1, demonstrating minimal female representation.
Balochistan reported a cohort of 8 residents, all male (100 percent), showing a complete absence of female doctors in this specialization within the province.
Punjab, which has the largest overall number of residents at 129, also showed a strong male bias, with approximately 80 percent of residents being male (103), resulting in a male-to-female ratio of nearly 4:1.
Senior ACS surgeons expressed concerns over further fracturing of general surgery by specialists focusing on infants.
Professor Dr Muhammad Arshad, Professor Karim F Damji, and Dr Saqib Qazi also addressed the conference.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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