KARACHI, July 14: The health ministry, in collaboration with the WHO, formally launched the “Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) for Sindh here on Monday, following a preparatory phase.

In connection with the initiative, an 11-day training programme for care providers will commence at the Aga Khan University on Tuesday to inculcate among trainees a broad and cross-cutting approach towards health problems of the young people.

In Pakistan the under-14 children are quite susceptible to environmental hazards and face several risk factors in their homes, schools and communities. Poverty is an additional risk factor as it has considerable bearing on the diseases that are spread by poor hygienic conditions, pollution and unsafe water.

The 11-day programme to be held at the AKU will be facilitated by Prof Gaffar Billoo, the chairman of the university’s paediatric units, Dr Baqir Hussein Jafferi, national operations officer for the IMCI, Dr Zardad Muhammed of the Army Medical College, Dr Ghulam Nabi Kazi of the WHO and Dr Mir Muhammad Shaikh, the provincial focal person for the IMCI.

Dr G.N. Kazi, providing the details of the initiative in Sindh, said it was aimed at reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with all the major childhood illnesses. The main thrust of the IMCI initiative was to improve the quality of care at first-level health facilities through the use of standardized case management procedures in an integrated approach.

“The country could no longer afford disease-specific programmes, which entailed a lot of wastage of scarce resources through duplication and lack of coordinated efforts,” he said.

Appreciating the federal and provincial health departments for facilitating the implementation of the programme, he said initially the program would be launched in the Nawabshah district and subsequently replicated in the other districts.

Dr Kazi further stated that the IMCI programme would be implemented under the Primary Health Care (PHC) system to provide essential care to the sick children based on practical techniques accessible to individuals and families in the community at a cost that is affordable.

In this process, comprehensive training material has been prepared, competent master trainers made available and a number of doctors and paramedical staff been trained.

According to him, the mainstay of the programme is the district health system. First-level care facilities will serve as the link between outreach lady health workers and referral support at taluka, district headquarters and teaching hospitals.

The programme is expected to improve the skills of the health workers, ensure the uninterrupted availability of seven essential and 23 other drugs at all first-level care facilities and timely referral to centres with additional facilities. — APP