Campaign against polioto start tomorrow

LAHORE

An anti-polio campaign in Punjab as part of National Immunisation Day will begin from Monday. The three-day campaign will be held from  April 17 to 19. It will target 18.7 million under-5 children.

“Punjab has had one polio case so far in the year. Although we are doing a good job but persistent circulation of virus in Multan, Lahore, Rawalpindi and DG Khan indicates that we have to improve our efforts,” said Khawaja Imran Nazir, Punjab Minister for Primary and Secondary Healthcare, according to a handout issued here on Saturday.

The Secretary Primary and Secondary Healthcare Punjab said the department had constituted over 44 thousand teams in the province which include 37,845 mobile teams, 4,439 fixed teams and 2,370 transit teams. Pakistan recorded 20 polio cases in 2016 with 8 in Sindh, 8 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 2 in FATA and 2 in Balochistan. Punjab has had no case in 2016. In 2017, Pakistan has reported just two cases and unfortunately one is from Punjab. Globally, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria are the three countries still having polio cases. Because of recent positive environmental samples, Punjab is focusing on Multan, Rawalpindi and Lahore.

Punjab’s Emergency Operation Coordinator Dr. Munir Ahmed said recent environmental samples have been a cause of concern indicating the presence of the virus in the environment. Dr. Munir Ahmed said: "There were positive samples in Rawalpindi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan and DG Khan in Punjab. We are trying to reach out to mobile and migrant population coming from polio affected areas. In case of teams not reaching any area, parents may contact helpline 0800 99000."

PU workshop: Punjab University’s Center for South Asian Studies (CSAS) and Department of Political Science in collaboration with  Hanns Seidel Foundation Pakistan organised a research methodology training workshop on “Research Design and Academic Writing” in the auditorium of CSAS.

According to a press release University of Bonn, German’s Aftab Nasir was the keynote speaker while the faculty members, students, MPhil/ PhD scholars of the centre and the department were present on the occasion. 

In his address, Aftab Nasir said all types of research were conducted under some paradigms including critical, empirical, phenomenological or constructionist, interpretive, ecological and social network paradigms. He said our research design was based on these paradigms which were very significant part of research. 

Insurance Day: Punjab University’s Hailey College of Banking and Finance (HCBF) organised an awareness declamation contest in connection with celebrations of Insurance Day on Saturday.

The objective of the celebrations was to create awareness in the general public about the benefits of insurance. HCBF Principal Prof Dr Mubbsher Munawar Khan and the CEOs of different insurance companies also attended the event. The topic of contest was “Why educated youth should adopt insurance as profession.” A large number of students enrolled in the discipline of Insurance & Risk Management participated in the event.

The declamation contest was judged by the panel comprising Prof Dr Mubbsher Munawar Khan, Nasar-us-Samad Qureshi and Muhammad Ishaq Khan. Ms Farwa Gul and Junaid Tauqeer were declared the winners. 

Green Week: Students of Ameer-ud-Din Medical College observed Green Week to create awareness about the global warming and to promote plantation in the country.

According to a press release issued here on Saturday, Post Graduate Medical Institute and Lahore General Hospital Principal Prof Dr Ghiyas-un-Nabi Tayyab appreciated the students and faculty members for starting the campaign as the students planted as many as 350 saplings in various areas of the college, setting their target of planting 500 plants. The slogan “Plant for the Planet” has been set for the plantation campaign.

PGMI and LGH Board of Management Chairman Salman Ghani and PGMI principle informed the media that the challenges to human life were increasing due to continuously rising global warming. Earth temperature is increasing and snow fields are squeezing on the earth rapidly while water level of shores is increasing day by day.