KARACHI, Nov 26: The city government is awaiting the copy of a notification regarding the lifting of ban on fresh recruitment and appointments in local bodies' institutions.

This was stated by the City Nazim, Naimatullah Khan, while speaking to the APP on Friday after distribution of certificates among participants of a four-day training programme for midwifery tutors and labour room in-charges, organised by the Forum to Update Midwifery Education for Trainers (FUMET) in collaboration with UNICEF, at the Sobhraj Maternity Hospital.

To a query on measures being adopted to absorb trained midwives into the existent government structure, he said that while a verbal announcement had already been made to lift restriction on recruitment, a letter was yet awaited following which trained midwives would be hired at all city government-owned maternity homes and hospitals.

This, he said was a prerequisite to compensate for the shortage of doctors and nurses. Earlier, addressing the course participants from 19 midwifery schools of both private and public sectors, he said the city government would be announcing uniformity in stipends offered to midwifery trainees registered with city and provincial governments, and private training centres.

Naimat maintained that in the backdrop of alarmingly high maternal as well as infant mortality/ morbidity rates in the country, it was extremely essential to have well-trained midwives at both the institutional and community levels.

It may be mentioned that the city government had only during the last few months established three new schools in Karachi, while two more were expected to start functioning soon. - APP