LAHORE: Screening for HIV/AIDS of the patients registered under the Tuberculosis Control Programme of Punjab Health Department will start from Monday.
A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting, presided over by Minister for Health Dr Yasmin Rashid here on Friday, in the wake of a recent international research that TB patients were more vulnerable to HIV.
AIDS testing kits have been dispatched to all the TB Control Programme centers at district level, the meeting was informed.
Dr Rashid said the screening process should be completed within 30 days and no test should be conducted without the consent of the patient. She said that 110,000 TB patients were being treated in the Punjab at present and the screening test would enable the health department update its AIDS-related data.
The minister said that 644 TB treatment centres, working across the province, would facilitate in AIDS testing process. The AIDS screening task should be completed within the time frame, she stressed.
CHILD HEALTH: Arrangements have been finalized to observe `awareness week’ on mother, child health and nutrition from Oct 1.
This was stated by Mother and Child Health and Nutrition Programme Project Director (IRMNCH&NP) Dr Syed Mukhtar Hussain Shah here on Friday.
He said that after years of neglect, stunting growth now been identified as a major global health priority. The World Health Assembly had also endorsed global targets and committed to reduce stunting growth by 40 per cent in children up to five years of age between 2010 and 2025.
Regarding the awareness week, Dr Shah said that IRMNCH&NP’s teams would reach more than 10 million children, minor girls and one million pregnant women in door to door drive.
He said that pregnant women would be provided iron and folic acid tablets free-of-cost. “Punjab is the largest and most populous province of the country and plays an imperative role in the economy of Pakistan despite the food security and malnutrition indicators show a dismal picture” he regretted.
According to the latest Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2014, acute malnutrition has risen to 17.5 per cent from 15.7 in the recent years while stunting growth stood at 33.5 per cent.
The project director said that during awareness drive, 2.8 million children up to two years of age would be given vitamins while sachet of multi minerals would be provided to the minors.
Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2018