THATTA: The Medical Emergency Resilience Foundation (MERF) has launched Primary Health-care Programme for coastal areas of Thatta and Sujawal districts with the financial assistance of UNICEF Pakistan.

The programme is integrated with prevention, EPI, MNCH (maternal, neonatal & child health) and outreach components of Sindh Health Depar-tment and field level activities are planned in coordination with district health offices of Thatta and Sujawal, says a press release issued on Wednesday.

The UNICEF-supported programme effectively addresses the immunisation needs and capacity building of health facilities, supports outreach intervention for health education and sensitisation for preventive measures.

Under the programme interventions, 21 trained teams will access villages in coastal areas and screen all children for malnutrition, acute respiratory infections and other illnesses among children and pregnant women in union councils of Karampur, Mehar, Udasi and Kharochhan of Thatta district and union council of Jungo Jalbani, Goongani, Kothi of Sujawal district. In addition, 14 vaccinators are deputed to ensure 100 per cent immunisation in these UCs of the coastal area.

The field medical teams will provide basic health services at village level and refer to nearby public sector hospitals as needed. The programme aims to access 29,137 children and 6,459 pregnant women in all seven UCs of both districts during the programme period of 11 months.

An important component of this programme is to strengthen MNCH services in nearby public sector taluka hospitals of Mirpur Sakro and Jati, rural health centers of Baghan and Var and government dispensary Chhachh Jahan Khan.

Under this programme, the MERF has added women doctors; MNCH related women paramedics; medicines and managed repair and renovation of health facilities and provided birth kits for health service providers and also for mothers for their newborn babies.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2024