LAHORE, July 2: The Punjab government has approved a Rs96.248 million project for the establishment of a quality control laboratory at the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences.
The project, which will be completed in three years, envisages establishment of a quality control laboratory to test livestock and food of animal origin in line with the requirements of the WTO regulations.
The major objectives of the project are to meet international standards of export and import of livestock commodities as prescribed in the WTO charter, test food items of animal origin, and feed ingredients of animal and plant origin for national health and security reasons.
It would also offer facilities to improve human and animal health to maintain national standards for human food of livestock and poultry origins, and to provide research facilities to scholars and postgraduate students of the UVAS.
Meanwhile, UVAS vice-chancellor Prof Dr Manzoor Ahmad has also formed a standing implementation committee, headed by veterinary science faculty dean Prof Dr Muhammad Akram Muneer. Microbiology department's associate professor Dr Khushi Muhammad has been made the project director.
LECTURE: The UVAS's institute of continuing education and extension, in collaboration with the university library, arranged a lecture on "Traditional and modern medicines: conflicts and contributions."
Aga Khan University's pharmacologist, Prof Dr Anwarul Hassan Gilani, delivered a lecture. About herbal medicines, he said, the relationship between humans and plants was the oldest one in human history. He said plants had been serving not only as food and shelter, but also medicine for human beings.
Prof Gilani deliberated on the concept of individualized treatment, saying: "Individuals having a same disease respond differently to a medicine." He said acupuncture was effective in chronic pain while modern medicines had their side effects.
He said integration of herbal, traditional and modern medicines was the best answer to the problems facing the developing world. VC Prof Ahmad said the university had started the monthly lecture series to sensitize teachers and students about issues and problems.