KARACHI, Feb 12: The theme ‘Optimizing child care in a resource-constrained environment’, chosen by the Pakistan Paediatric Association as the focal point of discussions during a four-day international biennial paediatric conference beginning on Thursday, is likely to generate strategies for overcoming challenges to children’s health and for creating rights situation in the country.

Speaking at a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Tuesday, PPA office-bearers while providing details of the forthcoming conference told journalists that multiple sessions on important aspects of child health, including cardiology, hematology, oncology, nephrology, surgery and clinical therapeutics, had been organized.

The chairperson of the conference organizing committee, Prof D.S. Akram, said indepth discussions on topics of pulmonology, gastroenterology, hepatology, infectious diseases, neurology and neonatology would also be held during separate sessions.

The conference will be preceded by intensive workshops spread over three days on integrated management of childhood illness, clinical research and methodology, child rights and abuse, and community-based care for the neo-nates, she added.

She with the PPA centre general secretary, Prof Iqbal Memon, also highlighted the role of the PPA in highlighting important issues relating to the rights and health of the children. The PPA, they said, was also a recognized body involved by the government in formulating and implementing decisions and legislations relating to child rights.

Prof Memon, however, conceded that the progress pace in the implementation of recommendations was much slower.

The general secretary of Sindh PPA, Dr Mumtaz Lakhani, said a session on neonatal mortality would also be an important conference event. She said at present about 40 out of 1,000 newborn babies in the country perished within the first month of their lives due to a host of problems, many of which were preventable.

The secretary of the conference organizing committee, Prof Inkisar Ali, and press secretary Dr Mushtaq Memon also highlighted the importance of child health and rights issue at the press briefing.