KARACHI, May 12: Sindh Secretary for Health Khalid Latif Chaudhry on Saturday appreciated the efforts being made by the National TB Control Programme to involve the private sector and NGOs of repute in implementation of the DOTS programme in Karachi and other parts of the country.

He was addressing a consultative meeting organised in Karachi by the National TB Control Programme in association with the Aga Khan Foundation, the Aga Khan University and the Hospital and the Aga Khan Health Services Pakistan.

He expressed his overall satisfaction over the pace of expansion of the programme.

The National Programme Manager TB control Syed Karam Shah gave the participants a brief overview of working of the national and provincial programmes which currently have a total allocation of Rs800 million of direct government spending without any contribution from the donors thus far.

In his welcoming remarks, WHO Operations Officer and Programme Officer TB Control, Dr Ghani Nabi Kazi, pointed out that rapid expansion of the DOTS coverage had led to good treatment results.

Dr Rozina P. Mistry pointed out that the operations of the Aga Khan Health Services Pakistan extended over three vast areas of the country both in Sindh and the NWFP provinces.

Programme Officer Aga Khan Foundation Islamabad, Qayyum Noorani, was assigned the task of convening regular meetings of this nature so that the process could be further strengthened.

The suggested areas of collaboration included establishment of TB diagnosis and treatment delivery outlets at AKHSP outlets in Karachi, Peshawar and Chitral, besides initiating DOTS in Karachi; developing guidelines for managing referred adults and children with suspected tuberculosis at district hospitals; developing education materials for patients and communities; inclusion of NTP guidelines in the undergraduate medical curriculum and operational research.—APP