ISLAMABAD, Nov 23: The federal health ministry has requested the World Health Organization (WHO) for an assistance of $156,000 for the promotion of healthy lifestyles during the Biennium 2002- 2003.

Official sources told Dawn that the prospective plan includes development of health education infrastructure during 2002-3.

“The ministry will continue its assistance to the provinces for the development of district health units; train their health manpower, and provide materials and equipment to them”, the sources said.

Disseminating information to the people and educating them on healthy lifestyle issues is an important component of the programme being undertaken by the ministry and the provincial health departments.

The programme includes family planning, primary health care, immunization, AIDS prevention, control of diarrhoeal diseases, initiatives for tobacco-free society, women health, roll-backing of malaria, TB control, IDD control and breast-feeding, they added.

The sources said, with the assistance of the WHO, Pakistan has so far been able to establish and equip one federal and four provincial, 28 divisional and about 20 district health education units for this purpose.

Under the plan, the sources said, the health ministry would assist in development of human resource.

The ministry, they added, would conduct training courses for the health education officers and manpower to enable them to plan, implement and monitor the programme at the district level.

Partnership development with public and private sectors to plan and implement school health education through prototype school health education curriculum, they added.

Sources said alliance building with media for enhanced coverage of healthy lifestyle subjects has been suggested and the ministry will produce materials for the promotion of healthy lifestyle such as videos, TV and radio programmes and spots, teaching aid for use by health care providers etc.

In collaboration with the WHO, the sources said, the ministry would provide technical assistance and guidance to the provincial and district health education units enabling them to provide inputs in all health-related programmes.