Diarrhoea divides Sindh health experts and journalists

Government, media urged to work hand in hand to raise awareness

KARACHI: Diarrhoea was the fourth leading cause of deaths in Pakistan in 2016 according to the statistics compiled by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and continues to be a leading killer of children claiming more than 53,000 children annually.



This was revealed at a workshop organised by Sindh Lady Health Worker (LHW) program and Nutrition International (NI) on "Diarrhoea and Its Impact on Infants".  The workshop focused on the prevention and management of diarrhoea in children under five years of age and its harmful impact on their growth and nutrition.

The orientation workshop intended to enhance capacity building of journalists and media personnel to help create awareness about the impact of diarrhoea on malnutrition and premature deaths. Technical experts on child health were present in the workshop including Civil Hospital Karachi Dr M N Lal, UNICEF Health Officer Dr Kamal Asghar, Aga Khan University Hospital Director Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health Zahid Memon and National Programme for Primary Healthcare and Family Planning Provincial Manager Dr Ghulam Hussain Shaikh.

During the question and answer session, one of the journalists blamed the government for not taking immediate and required measures to create awareness about the disease, claiming it to be the reason why the number of deaths from diarrhoea is increasing in Pakistan.

The health experts replied that it were the journalists who have to play a role to create awareness as they stand as the bridge between the government and masses. They claimed that they organised the event and invited the journalists, but if they didn't show up at large, it wasn't their fault.

Another journalist accused the officials of not taking action on the situation of diarrhoea unless there were external pressures on them. This frustrated the officials and they replied that they didn't need any external pressures. They also added that there was no point in playing the blame game as the government and media needed to work hand in hand to fight these concerns instead of accusing one another.

Sindh Additional Director General Health Dr Waqar Mehmood maintained that NI was taking relevant measures to promote awareness of diarrhoeal diseases and said, "Pakistan is ranked amongst the top seven countries with the highest number of diarrhoea cases, and the increasing number of deaths associated with it. It is imperative that our countrymen understand the importance of health and nutrition in children, and adapt all necessary measures to prevent deaths caused as a result of these illnesses".



Indus Health Network Director of Maternal, Newborn, Child Health & Nutrition Director Dr M Imran Khan discussed the prevention and treatment of diarrhoea. He said that self-medication should be highly discouraged. Preventive measures include hand washing before eating, rota virus vaccine and vita A supplementation that increases gut immunity.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 10^th, 2018.