School health screening to start soon in Punjab

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.