HYDERABAD, March 3: “The government should make arrangements for providing medical facilities to people at their doorstep rather than investing heavily in hi-tech innovations.” This was unanimously stressed by the Pakistani physicians and those from abroad on the second day of the 13th National Paediatrics Conference organised by the Pakistan Paediatrics Association (PPA). This they said will help in reducing maternal, neonatal and infant mortality rate.

The medical fraternity also called for preparing disaster management plans wherein abuse and exploitation of children could be checked. They said that there was a need to register children and establish a database to reunite them with their families in case of a disaster.

Topics including disaster management, community-based maternal and child survival programmes, global health challenges and recent advances in childhood vaccines also came under discussion on Saturday.

Prof Herendra D’Silva from Sri Lanka while sharing his views on tsunami said that due to the lack of disaster management and preparedness plans, exploitation of children continued in that situation as well, by traffickers who posed as relief workers.

In the aftermath of such a situation, Sri Lanka has now prepared a child protection plan, he said adding that the South Asian nations didn’t have expertise to take care of the affected people, even logistics support.

Principal Regional Training Centre Population Welfare, Peshawar Dr Tufail Mohammad said that the calamity like the Oct 2005 earthquake exposed numerous children to exploitation and kidnapping, as either they were orphaned or were split from their families.

Dr Tufail said that the PPA had opposed the adoption of children as the purpose for such a move was not defined which indicated the possibility of their exploitation. He stressed upon the need to set up camps near disaster sites so that the community-based care could be ensured.

Prof Anthony Costello from the UK spoke on the challenges of maternal and child survival programmes, including the supply of potable drinking water, sanitation and education. He urged the doctors to focus on training of traditional birth attendants and added that the community should be directly addressed by providing them facilities and services. "Unless it was done mere seminars and speeches would not be of any help", he said.

President of the `Protection and help of children against abuse and neglect’ (Pahchaan) Dr Naeem Zafar said that the `Hospital Children Protection Committee (HCPC) had been formed in three provinces and soon it would also be set up in LUMHS. He briefed on psycho and social rehabilitation of affected children. "It had been observed that parents were shy of disclosing the actual cause of injury or bleeding in children for which optimum need to be taken", he said. He criticised the growth of mini cinemas, availability of porno CDs and TV channels which were promoting horrifying habits in our youth. "Since children watch such programmes, they consider it as a norm of life thus bringing them nearer to exploitation", he said.

Prof Dharampuri Vidya Sagar from the US briefed on "global health challenges: pivotal role of paediatrician", and recounted the history of paediatrics. He told them different methods of providing immediate care to neonatal and the mother. If proper medical care is given morbidity and mortality rate could be reduced in the country, he said. In this context he referred to China where he said family planning and neonatal care are given preference equally.

Dr Sanjoy K. Datta from Singapore spoke on recent advances in childhood vaccines and said that one of the two new vaccines for Rota virus — the root cause of gastroenteritis — had been licensed in Pakistan which proved effective. Globally, around 0.6 million children die due to gastro, he added.

CONDEMNED: The Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan has condemned the killing of Sindh Agriculture University student Majid Rajput and ransacking of the university by ‘terrorists.’

JUP leaders Qari Abdul Rasheed Awan, Haji Moinuddin Shaikh and others visited the residence of Mr Rajput on Saturday and expressed condolences with the bereaved family.