KARACHI, Aug 22: The Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) is contemplating to restructure its undergraduate curriculum as well as the house job programme to ensure that doctors are well versed in handling diseases pertinent to the local conditions.

This was stated by DUHS Vice-Chancellor Prof Masood Hameed at the inaugural ceremony of the 11-day master training programme in Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) for medical officers from different government hospitals of Karachi here on Monday.

The 11-day programme organized in collaboration with Unicef-Sindh and the WHO at the Civil Hospital Karachi, Paediatrics Department, Unit III.

The said programme is being attended by 24 participants under the supervision of Prof Iqbal Memon, Sindh coordinator for IMCI and Dr Kazi Mujtaba.

The Dow University of Health Sciences vice-chancellor stressing the need for a pragmatic approach with adequate training and sensitization of doctors said that the DUHS intended to take the initiative.

He, approving the submission forwarded by Prof Iqbal Memon, hinted that clinical intervention with specific reference to the five commonest childhood diseases casting its severe impact on survival and quality existence of country’s under five children would be necessarily incorporated in the MBBS training programme of the Dow University of Health Sciences.

It would not only focus the five diseases - namely respiratory tract infections (pneumonia), diarrhoeal diseases, malnutrition, malaria and measles contributory to over 70 per cent deaths among the local kids but around 20 other communicable and non-communicable ailments commonly witnessed in the local population would also be focussed under the MBBS training programme, Prof Hameed elaborated.

He also expressed his intention to make house job programme more meaningful with provision to adjudge the capacities and capabilities of students completing their six months house job period.

The vice-chancellor also referred to different training programmes introduced by the university for nurses and paramedics associated with different hospitals along with continuing medical education sessions for general physicians.

He on the occasion also announced that all proceedings of the 11-day IMCI workshop would be recorded by the Dow University of Health Sciences ’s audiovisual and these after required editing by Prof Iqbal Memon would be posted to the DUHS website.

The idea is to disseminate knowledge and information, he said mentioning that more than 30,000 doctors may not be able to attend such workshops but the website would be accessible to majority of them.

Prof Iqbal Memon in his presentation cited the IMCI a strategy to handle childhood diseases in a holistic manner.

This, he said was extremely essential as the country was registering a high under five mortality rate of 103 per 1,000 live births ie 10 per cent of all under five children failed to survive due to these five commonest diseases.

Elaborating his stance, he said pneumonia caused 30 per cent of all under five deaths, diarrhoeal diseases contributed to 25 per cent and malnutrition, measles and malaria caused another 20 per cent deaths.

Dr Qazi Mujtaba Kamal on the occasion said that neonatal component was also being incorporated in the IMCI programme.

According to him the programme had been specifically designed for doctors working in the rural facilities.—APP