KARACHI, Aug 26: Despite numerous initiatives and billions of rupees that have been spent over the years on health, Pakistani children continue to suffer from common illnesses as well as malnutrition which increases the burden of diseases.
This was stated by two paediatricians and one paediatric surgeon - namely, Prof Zeenat Issani, Prof D.S. Akram and Prof Kaleemuddin Aziz - at a discussion called "Paediatric update" held at the PMA House on Thursday.
The burden of diseases, the speakers maintained, could not be lessened through initiatives in the health sector alone. Rather, it could be reduced by educating the masses to an optimal level and by providing means to increase their incomes and by launching adequate health initiatives.
Prof D.S. Akram said that a simple intervention involving provision of toilets in homes was known to have brought about a reduction in the burden of diarrhoea. Similarly, consumption of iodized salt reduced iodine deficiency. The fact that iodized salt was used by only 14 per cent of the population was another matter which needed to be looked into.
The professor praised the government initiative under which vitamin A tablets were distributed among the masses. She was of the view that the infants should be exclusively breast-fed for the first six months of their lives.
"After six months, the baby should be given solid food," she said. Prof Akram was of the opinion that in an effort to reduce the burden of disease in the country, the mothers should be educated.
They should be given better housing, having proper toilets, and also provided opportunities to supplement their income, she added. Prof Kaleemuddin Aziz spoke on the need for cardiac surgery on children for which no facility was available in Pakistan at the moment. He said 53,339 infants suffered from heart problems every year which resulted in a growing cumulative burden of the disease.
The professor said cardiac interventions could not be undertaken on children in the absence of specialized paramedics and nurses. He was of the opinion that surgical procedures on children in an adult setup could not be too useful.
Prof Zeenat Issani said the Pakistani population had not yet been able to get rid of enteric fever, which was largely preventable provided hygienic conditions were maintained. In her rather pessimistic presentation, she said 665 children of under five years, out of every 100,000 Pakistanis died due to complications arising out of typhoid.
She added that the list of typhoid complications was a long one. The drug resistance, according to a study, was declining and it was now possible for doctors to prescribe first-and second-generation drugs.
