KARACHI:
The continued degradation in the quality of the environment in the city and the widespread use of unsafe water for drinking, particularly in the suburbs, is increasingly putting lives of children at risk of gastrointestinal diseases.
This was noted by the pediatricians and health experts at a health clinic organised in Surjani Town by the Rural Supporting and Development Society (RSDS), a non-governmental organisation. Indigestion, heartburn, nausea, loss of appetite, abdominal pain that is often worse after eating, gastrointestinal bleeding and stomach acids are some of the most common problems from the family of gastrointestinal diseases for which children were treated at the day-long camp.
“GI or gastrointestinal disorders are directly linked to drinking and eating. The quality of the food and the child’s intake as well as the quality of the water they drink determines their health,” says Dr Habibur Rehman, former general secretary of the Pakistan Medical Association. He bemoaned the fact that it is not available to most children in Karachi, the majority of whom live in the suburbs or low-income areas.
Dr Shams Gopang, a senior consultant, said that the increase in pollution is another cause for the increase in gastrointestinal diseases among children. “The increase in transport means and industries have put tremendous pressure on the environment in the city, and if we monitor the quality of the air the children breathe and inhale, there is no surprise that such problems are spreading fast,” he said. RSDS General Secretary Amir Hector Peter said that the society was planning more camps for the children in the city and also establishing a permanent free of cost clinic for patients of all ages and gender.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 7th, 2011.
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