Minister attributes Thar children’s deaths to premature births

MN Report

Karachi: Attributing recent children’s death in Thar to early marriages, cultural values, malnutrition, pre-mature births and underweight, Sindh Minister for Health Jam Mehtab Hussain Dahar has vowed to utilize all resources for raising the living standards of the Tharpeople. 

Presiding over a meeting at his office, he said that the health authorities were having a close coordination with the USAID for providing mobile medical teams at district and tehsil level in Thar.
Emphasizing the need for improving primary health sector, he said that more than 817 LHVs were performing their duties in different parts of Thar.

The minister directed secretary health to establish neurosurgery wards in all government hospitals to provide better health facilities to the people.

He also requested the philanthropists to come forward to help health department in providing best possible health facilities to patients.

At the outset, the minister regretted that specialists were not willing to serve in Thar area although the government had announced several incentives for them.

The meeting was attended, among others, by Secretary Health Dr Saeed Ahmed Mangnejo, MS Civil Hospital Dr WajidMemon, Neurosurgery department’s chairman Dr Riaz Ahmed.

IMMUNIZATION: Terming routine immunization a gigantic task, the minister said that health department is committed to address all the challenges in collaboration with the USAID, WHO and UNICEF.

He was speaking as chief guest at a ceremony where the USAID handed over 350 sets of IT equipment worth Rs52.5million to Sindh health department for strengthening EPI data reporting through web-based vaccine Logistic Management Information System (vLMIS).

The minister hoped that the equipments provided by the USAID would help improve the performance of the EPI’s district workforce in getting increased vaccination coverage across the province.

Sindh Health Secretary Dr Saeed Ahmed Mangnejoappreciated the USAID’s technical and financial support for improving health indictors through its Mother & Child Health programme in the province and reiterated the health authorities’ commitment of ensuring zero tolerance towards non-performers.

Earlier, director general (Health Services) Dr Hassan Murad Shah lauded the USAID’s logistics and supply chain support for strengthening routine immunization across the province.

Deputy Mission Director,  USAID MsJaqueline Schumacher said that the US government highly appreciate the receptive approach of Sindh government towards health sector’s reforms and that we are committed to continue our support to strengthen public health supply chain system.