‘Better mother-child health can create healthy society’

LAHORE
Adviser to Chief Minister on Health Khawaja Salman Rafiq has said that improving the mother and child health is the basic requirement for creating a healthy society.
He said that prevention of diseases was possible through dissemination of awareness among masses regarding the principles of hygiene.
He said the government was focusing on the mother and child health programme for the achievement of Millennium Development Goals.
He said this while inaugurating the Mother and Child Health Week at Wahdat Colony Hospital, according to a handout issued on Monday. Addl. Director General Health Integrated Reproductive, Mother, Neonatal and Child Health (IRMNCH) Dr. Ijaz Ahmad Sheikh, Representatives of UNICEF Dr. Naila, Dr. Uzma, EDO Health Lahore Dr. Zulfiqar Ali, DOH Dr. Saeed Ahmad, Dr. Sajjad, Dr. Pervaiz Imtiaz, Dr. Sohail, and a large number of health workers attended the function.
Dr. Ijaz Sheikh informed the media that the major killers of children were pneumonia and diarrhea and the theme of the Mother and Child Health Week was to prevent diarrhea.
He said this week would continue till 2nd of May during which 48,000 Lady Health Workers and other staff would carry health the message door-to-door.
Moreover, six million children will be given anti-worm tablets besides eight lakh children will be inoculated vaccine. He said that anti-tetanus injections would be given to one million pregnant women.
He said the Lady Health Workers and Lady Health Visitors would organise the health education sessions in villages and four million women would benefit from this educational activities.
He said the pregnant women would be advised to use a balanced diet during their pregnancy. Moreover, screening of malnourished children will also be carried out.
Kh. Salman Rafiq said the government had integrated the Lady Health Workers Programme, Mother and Child Health, and Nutrition Programme and established the IRMNCH programme to take measures with a focused approach for the improvement of mother and child health.
He said the folk-women should be given awareness regarding delivery so that they could consult the lady health visitors, skilled birth attendant or a gynecologist for their delivery which would be helpful to reduce the maternal mortality rate.
Tevta: Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority (Tevta) appointed the Placement Officers at all the districts across Punjab.
These Placement Officers will arrange jobs for Tevta pass-outs in their districts concerned.
This was stated by Chairperson Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority Irfan Qaiser Shaikh while addressing a meeting on Monday.
The meeting was attended by Chief Operating Officer Jawad Ahmed Qureshi, General Managers Hamid Ghani Anjum, Abdul Qayyum, Azhar Iqbal Shad, and other officers.
Irfan Qaiser Shaikh said the Placement Officers would frequently visit the industries of their areas concerned to categorise the availability of jobs while they would also visit their Chambers of Commerce and Industry concerned to maintain a liaison for this purpose.
They will also identify the areas where new courses are required to be launched by Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority.