‘Mother-child health is most important’

Campaign includes daily discussion sessions for mothers and mothers-to-be.

LAHORE:

The Health Department is launching a Mother and Child Health Week from April 25 in collaboration with the UNICEF.

The focus of the awareness raising activities during the week will be on rural areas. Children below two years of age are the subject of the campaign, Health EDO Umar Farooq Baloch said. “We want to educate infants’ mothers about their and their child’s health and hazards” he added.

Dr Muhammad Kaleemur Rehman, the National Health Programme district coordinator, said that 1,900 lady health workers (LHWs) will be visiting 50 houses each across the province to invite mothers to discussion groups that will be held every afternoon in their neighbourhood. He said the LHW will also set up stalls at places easily accessible to the mothers.

Dr Rehman said that the department aimed at immunising nearly 150,000 children across the province. He said theat women will also be vaccinated and given necessary medicines free of charge.

He said while the six-day campaign will primarily focus on rural areas, 720 LHWs had been assigned tp camps in Lahore. He said these workers will give mothers iron injections where needed and health education sessions in the camps on pre-natal care, childbirth, breast feeding, vaccination and other mother-child health related issues.

The department plans two such campaigns a year, in April and October. 12 supervisors will monitor the campaign and daily discussion sessions in each neighbourhood.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 23^rd, 2011.