Indus Vitals

Doctors at the Civil Hospital Karachi on World Breast Cancer Day 2024  (file photo)   Ahead of World Health Day, April 7, there is good news from Karachi about curative side of women health. A breast cancer radiotherapy facility is expected to go operational at the Karachi’s major public sector hospital, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, with the support of NGO Edhi Foundation, in a year’s time. Execution of such a plan would certainly be a significant development, given the facts that every year thousands of women, aged 19 to 70 years, are diagnosed with breast cancer, a leading cause of death among them.  Though there is dearth of data related to the cancer diseases, like many other diseases and epidemics, in the country, physicians and surgeons concerned have been complaining about the considerably late or slow diagnosis of women breast cancer, as well as delayed curative or management interventions, medical or surgical. Almost half of the cancer victim women are d...

KARACHI: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has unveiled its first-ever global guidelines for meningitis diagnosis, treatment, and care, aiming to reduce the significant public health threat posed by this disease. These comprehensive guidelines address almost all forms of meningitis, including the most dangerous bacterial form, which can become fatal within 24 hours. According to WHO, 2.5 million cases of meningitis were reported globally in 2019, with 1.6 million cases of bacterial meningitis resulting in approximately 240,000 deaths. Additionally, 1 in 5 individuals affected by bacterial meningitis incur long-term complications, leading to disability and impacting quality of life. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, emphasised the importance of these guidelines, stating that implementing them will help save lives, improve long-term care for those affected by meningitis, and strengthen health systems. WHO Director-General The guidelines, intended for healthcare profe...

File photo courtesy: DIRPI  IV Report: KARACHI: The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has called for stricter enforcement of the Sindh Food Authority's (SFA) ban on unhealthy food and drinks in schools and colleges across the province, with a transparent and accountable system for monitoring the compliance. PMA Secretary General Dr Abdul Ghafoor Shoro in a statement on April 11 emphasised the need for regular inspections, surprise checks, and a mechanism for reporting violations to ensure compliance. The SFA had initially issued a notification in 2018, calling for a ban on the sale of soft drinks, energy drinks, and colored, flavored snacks within and around educational institutions. This move, according to it, aims to promote healthy eating habits among students and reduce the risk of diet-related health issues. SFA maintained that it was committed to availability of safe, hygienic and healthy foods for the population, including the school goers, across Sindh. PMA Secr...

IV Report KARACHI: The Sindh Food Authority (SFA) has reminded the school education and college education departments of Sindh of a 2018 notification banning the sale of soft drinks, energy drinks, and coloured, flavored snacks within and around educational institutions across the province. According to a source in the provincial food watchdog, letters on the subject of consumption of reported harmful drinks and snacks among students at schools and colleges have been sent earlier too, but to no avail. “Hierarchies in SFA have decided now to get the restriction notification enforced in letter and spirit in the larger interest of students’ health,” an official said, sharing the latest round of intimation and awareness will be followed by on-ground actions, including imposition of penalties or closure of canteen and carts found indulged in the sale of unwanted eatable to students. The SFA Director General Asif Jan Siddiqi, in his letter of April 10 to secretaries of the two educatio...

MICS 2024 provides vital insights for policymakers and development partners, highlighting neonatal and under-five child mortality rates KARACHI: A latest report of Punjab Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) has revealed that crucial indicators of a child’s nutritional landscape remain insignificantly changed in seven years since 2018 across the province, with a stunting rate among children under five years at 27.3% in 2024, against WHO cutoff point of about 2.5% in healthy population. Providing key insight from data providing overview of the well-being of children, women and households in Punjab, the recently released MICS 2024 provides vital insights for policymakers and development partners, highlighting neonatal and under-five child mortality rates at 33 and 55 (per 1,000 live births), respectively, infant mortality rate at 49, rate of infants under 6 months exclusively breastfed at 33.9%, and mixed feed rate at 33%. According to 2017-18 MICS report, the infant mortality ...

IV Report  KARACHI: On World Health Day, April 7, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) emphasised the critical need for a strong foundation in early life to ensure a prosperous and healthy future for all Pakistani citizens. The PMA called for robust primary care investment, stressing that achieving "healthy beginnings" requires a significant overhaul and strengthening of the nation's primary healthcare infrastructure. The association urged the government to prioritise substantial investments to ensure accessible and equitable healthcare services for every Pakistani, regardless of financial standing. Key measures advocated by PMA Secretary General Dr Abdul Ghafoor Shoro include: - Allocating a substantial portion of the national budget to bolster primary healthcare infrastructure, including clinics, rural health centers, and basic health units. - Implementing universal health coverage , eliminating out-of-pocket expenses for essential healthcare services. - Invest...

KARACHI: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has expressed concerns that significant funding cuts to aid programmes may undermine the progress made in reducing child mortality worldwide. Despite a decline in child deaths globally, with 4.8 million deaths reported in 2023, the organisation warns that reduced funding for life-saving programmes is causing healthcare worker shortages, clinic closures, and disruptions to vaccination programmes. According to the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME), the number of child deaths has dropped by more than half since 2000, and stillbirths have declined by over a third. However, the reports also highlight that progress has slowed, and too many children are still being lost to preventable causes. "In 2022, the world reached a historic milestone when child deaths dropped slightly below 5 million for the first time," the reports noted. However, the Inter-agency Group warned that global funding cuts c...