KARACHI: Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho said on Wednesday that no case of mpox (previously known as monkeypox) had so far been reported in the province.

Speaking at a press conference here, she said a total of 140 cases of chikungunya have been confirmed through laboratory tests, while the malaria situation in the province has improved.

Highlighting official efforts to improve the health sector, she said the government would upgrade all health facilities, including primary units, under the 1000-Days Integrated Health and Population Project supported by the World Bank.

“We have created a master plan for the upgradation of the Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi, which is the second major tertiary care government hospital in the province after Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre,” she said.

She added that the government was implementing a biometric system at hospitals to improve staff efficiency and had planned to establish simulation labs at all teaching hospitals.

Addressing concerns over the recruitment process, she said doctors were being hired through the Sindh Public Service Commission, and other medical staff would be recruited following a court order.

“Seventeen medico-legal officers have been inducted for Karachi, the majority of whom are women,” she said.

In response to a question about the Sindh Protection and Promotion of Breast-Feeding and Young Child Nutrition Act, 2023, she clarified that the government did not impose restrictions on the sale of infant formula products. “We required medical stores to only sell these formula products with a doctor’s prescription. However, the act was challenged, and the case is still in court,” she said.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2024