LAHORE:Every child will be screened for diseases, including thalassemia, before the 9th-grade examination, said Caretaker Health Minister Dr Javed Akram in a meeting here on Thursday.The minister said the school health screening project will protect present and future generations from dangerous diseases.
“The school health screening programme will prove to be a game changer. For the first time in the history of Pakistan, children are going to be screened on such a large scale. Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi has decided to start a school health screening programme to protect children from dangerous diseases. Every child will be screened for various diseases, including thalassemia, before the 9th-grade examination. Final approval of the proposed legislation by the Law Department will be given by the Punjab Cabinet. The Punjab Health Care Commission will play an important role in the health screening of children. All technical aspects will be reviewed in this regard by the steering committee, the minister said. The meeting was held in the Department of Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education under the chairmanship of Caretaker Health Ministers Dr Javed Akram and Dr Jamal Nasir. Caretaker Health Ministers Dr Javed Akram and Dr Jamal Nasir reviewed the measures regarding blood screening of ninth-grade students in educational institutions in Punjab.
Secretary Health Punjab Ali Jan Khan, Special Secretary Syed Wajid Ali Shah, Additional Secretary Agha Nabil, Barrister Mudassar Ishaq and Mohammad Nader from Law Department, Deputy Secretary Dr Abdul Rehman, Vice Chancellor University of Health Sciences Prof Dr Ahsan Waheed Rathore, Pro Vice Chancellor King Edward Medical University Prof Dr Ijaz Hussain, Principal Services Institute of Medical Sciences Prof Dr Farooq Afzal, Dean Institute of Public Health Prof Dr Zarfashan Tahir, Dr Hussain Jafari, Dr Yasmin Ehsan, Director Punjab Healthcare Commission Dr. Anwar Janjua, Prof Dr Faiza Bashir, Prof Shabnam Majeed, MD Children’s Hospital Dr Tipu, Chairman Lahore Board Muhammad Habib and other officers attended the meeting. The caretaker Minister of the Primary and Secondary Health Care Department, Dr Jamal Nasir, said that the Punjab Health Care Commission will audit all the laboratories regarding the health screening of children. Families of patients suffering from dangerous diseases like thalassemia go through extreme pain every day. Parents can save their children from lifelong disabilities through the schools’ health screening programme, he said.
UHS announces MBBS, other exam results
The University of Health Sciences (UHS), has announced the results of MBBS and various post-graduate professional examinations.
According to a press release issued by the university spokesperson on Thursday, a total of 867 candidates from 43 medical colleges appeared in the second professional MBBS supplementary examinations 2022, out of which 679 passed and 175 failed. Out of 45 candidates, 13 passed the Master in Public Health annual examinations 2021 for the Institute of Public Health, Lahore, and the Armed Forces Postgraduate Medical Institute, Rawalpindi. From Khawaja Mohammad Safdar Medical College Sialkot, both candidates were successful in the MD Psychiatry final exams while six candidates passed the MD Dermatology intermediate first annual written exam under the central induction scheme. Additionally, three candidates passed in MD Pulmonology and one in Gastroenterology intermediate first annual examination. A candidate from Nishtar Medical College, Multan also succeeded in MS Pediatric Surgery final exams. All results can be viewed on the UHS website.