Minister for promoting Iqbal’s teachings

LAHORE : The teachings of Iqbal should be added to the curriculum to increase the interest of students. Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood stated this while chairing the 53rd meeting of governing body at Iqbal Academy on Saturday.

“The academy has a vital role in preparing the curriculum. Schools should establish Iqbal societies,” said the minister.

We will contact Higher Education Commission to add Iqbaliyat in universities courses. The academy would be soon upgraded into digital, he said and added research experts would be selected according to the act of governing body.

The minister was informed about the National Iqbal Council which will be held at Karachi in November.

Seminar: A seminar on breastfeeding and infant health was held at Kinnaird College for Women, Lahore, on Saturday.

The event titled “Breastfeeding and Lactation: Promoting Maternal and Infant Health” was organised organised by the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition in collaboration with Kinnaird College for Women, Higher Education Commission and South Asian Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology (SAFOG).

The panelists and the speakers included Professor Dr Rubina Sohail, Services Hospital, Lahore, Prof Dr Samia Malik, Prof Dr Maryam Malik, Prof Dr Shahla Anwar, Prof Dr Shumaila Hanif, Prof Dr Rameeza Kaleem, Prof Dr Alia Bashir, Prof Dr Shaheena Asif and Prof Dr Ayesha Malik.

The objective of the seminar was to promote maternal and infant health through breastfeeding and lactation, and to create its awareness among the young women. It was an effort to shed light on the benefits of breastfeeding and its impacts on the overall health of women.

This collaborative effort was not only informative for the mothers in the audience but for the young women.

Kinnaird College for Women Principal Dr Rukhsana David also attended the event.

Free treatment: As per policy of the government, free diagnostic and treatment facilities for childhood TB are available in public sector tertiary care hospitals as well as in DHQ/THQ hospitals and the RHCs.

“Special training for childhood TB have been provided to child specialists in all districts and it is an ongoing process where fresh doctors are trained and previous batches are provided with refresher training,” says Dr. Zarfishan Tahir, Provincial Director Punjab TB Control Program (PTP), in a statement issued here on Saturday. She further said that WHO-recommended literature and manuals were periodically upgraded by PTP in consultation with the Pakistan Paediatric Association and provided to district staff for guidance.

Manager Operation Development Zubair Ahmad informed that after 2013 lot of improvements had been witnessed in the health facilities. He said that with gradual increase in the number of centres, the number of registration of TB patients had also improved.