- Pakistani banks prioritise cancer and renal care, yet dental disease burden silently escalates nationwide
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has evolved from mere philanthropy to a core strategic component of modern banking, particularly in developing economies like Pakistan. In the Pakistani financial sector, leading commercial banks have formally adopted CSR policies. They routinely channelize substantial funds into critical social sectors, with healthcare consistently cited as a top priority. While these contributions significantly aid the national healthcare infrastructure by supporting tertiary care institutions that address life-threatening conditions like cancer and renal failure, a significant gap remains in the strategic focus on preventive health. Specifically, the role of Pakistani banks in proactively promoting and funding oral health and hygiene initiatives appears limited, despite the considerable and often-overlooked public health burden posed by poor oral hygiene across the country.
The foundation of CSR in Pakistani banking is robust, prioritizing high-impact, curative interventions. Major financial institutions, including the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), Allied Bank, HBL and Soneri Bank, allocate vast resources to established healthcare partners. These partnerships focus on tackling prevalent and debilitating diseases. They support the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) for renal care, Layton Rehmatullah Benevolent Trust (LRBT) for eye care and Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital. This approach is strategically sound from a visibility perspective, as contributions to these high-profile causes receive significant public and media recognition. The NBP has institutionalized its CSR by running countrywide general medical camps. However, a detailed review of published CSR reports of these major banks reveals generalized “Healthcare” categories, seldom specifying dedicated campaigns or funds earmarked for dentistry or oral health awareness, indicating that oral care remains largely secondary to medical aid. This is despite the fact that oral health is an integral part of general health. Poor oral health leads to infections, gum disease, and tooth loss, which may contribute to serious conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and respiratory problems. Maintaining good oral hygiene not only preserves teeth and gums but also supports overall well-being and improves quality of life.
The relative neglect of oral health promotion represents a missed opportunity for the banking sector to engage in cost-effective preventive CSR. Pakistan faces a silent epidemic of oral health issues, characterized by some of the highest rates of dental caries, periodontal disease, and oral cancer globally. The high incidence of oral cancer, in particular, is strongly linked to the consumption of harmful substances like betel nut quid (gutka, mawa) and posing a distinct and severe regional health crisis. Unlike complex, curative treatments funded by banks, oral health intervention, focused on hygiene education and basic preventative screening, is an affordable and climbable solution. Investing in oral health education for school-age children could dramatically reduce the future burden of systemic diseases, as oral health is intrinsically linked to cardiovascular health, diabetes management, and pregnancy outcomes.
Current efforts in oral health promotion are primarily sustained by dedicated non-profit organizations and synergistic public-private partnerships that do not typically involve the banking sector as the lead sponsor. Entities like the Pakistan Dental Association (PDA) and organizations such as the Al-Mustafa Welfare Society are on the front lines, deploying mobile dental units and organizing free dental camps to reach underprivileged populations. A notable example is the partnership between PDA Karachi and the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) for a Public Dental Awareness Program, which focuses on combating the effects of harmful oral habits among the extensive field workforce of the organization and surrounding communities. These initiatives underscore the massive need and the effectiveness of targeted corporate intervention in this domain, yet banks appear as general donors to these organizations rather than as strategic partners driving the oral health agenda.
To elevate their contribution and achieve a more comprehensive societal impact, Pakistani banks must strategically realign a portion of their healthcare CSR budgets. This shift should entail moving from a purely reactive, curative funding model to a proactive, preventive one focused on dentistry. Specific actionable steps include:
1. Engage the PDA to carry out a nationwide survey on dental treatment needs.
2. Earmark Funds for recurring, mass-scale, school-based dental camps that distribute hygiene kits and provide prophylactic treatments
3. Sponsor Public Service Campaigns on national media platforms to raise awareness about oral cancer and the dangers of betel nut quid consumption
4. Integrate Oral Health Screening into their existing general medical camps to ensure early detection of periodontal disease and precancerous lesions
A strategic pivot toward dedicated oral health initiatives would not only directly address a primary community need but also optimize the impact of CSR spending, positioning Pakistani banks as true champions of comprehensive and sustainable national well-being.
The Author Prof. Dr Asaad Javaid is a Dean, Faculty of Dentistry, Baqai Medical University