KARACHI, Feb 19: The second provincial master trainers workshop on “Essential New Born Care” for doctors from Balochistan commenced here at the Paediatrics Department Unit One, Civil Hospital.

The event, aimed at providing effective and adequate job-specific training to health-care providers has been organized by Save the Children (SC/UC) in collaboration with the Women Health Project.

Fifteen doctors from four different districts of Balochistan, namely Khuzdar, Loralai, Jafferabad and Panjgoor, besides three executive district officers and one project director of the Balochistan Women Health Project, are the participants of the workshop.

Additional health secretary for Balochistan, Dr Haji Manzoor Hussein, inaugurating the 10- day programme, said it was high time for both federal and provincial governments to give the highest priority to women’s health.

He said that in our society discrimination against girls started very early in their lives in the form of preference of boys to girls who were extended lesser share of food, clothing, education, health care and other benefits, and as they grew older they continued to find themselves at a disadvantage in terms of economic opportunities; consequently about 50 per cent of women were malnourished and anaemic.

Referring to the fact that 25,000 to 30,000 women die each year due to pregnancy-related complications, Dr Hussein said that many more suffered from serious and disabling health problems. He attributed the situation to the fact that less than 20 per cent of women receive trained help during delivery.

“Since the poor health of the mother and lack of health care has a negative impact on the health of newborns, we can witness 25 per cent of our children born with low birth weight,” the additional secretary said and added that the grim statistics necessitated concentrated efforts to provide information, awareness and training to address women’s health issues on priority basis.

Earlier, coordinator of the workshop, Dr Aaliya, said the government realized that effective and adequate job-specific training of the health-care providers was the most effective means of bringing about a change in the health status of mothers and their newborns.

Prof D.S. Akram, speaking on the occasion, appreciated the Women’s Health Project for adopting competency-based training which would lead to improvement in health services.—APP