Malnourished children get food packages

Officials say family planning guidelines being offered to couples

ISLAMABAD:

The district health administration has launched a mobile camp under the banner of health and family planning in order to address the issues of overpopulation and children, belonging to poor and middle-class households, falling victim to various illnesses due to malnutrition in Rawalpindi district.

Sources said the guidelines for family planning and the food package containing multivitamins for malnourished children are being distributed among the parents. According to sources, the purpose of this exercise is to implement the slogan of ‘fewer children, prosperous family’, by keeping couples healthy by having fewer children, meeting their nutritional needs according to their resources, and later providing them with quality education, quality life, and making them useful citizens of the society.

On Thursday, a special camp was organised in the Rural Health Centre at Khayaban-e-Sir Syed in collaboration with the District Health Authority and NGO Rahmuma, in which a large number of malnourished children and their mothers participated. The family planning instructors highlighted the importance of family planning, the healthy life of mothers and children according to their resources for families with few children and the importance of children becoming useful citizens of society after quality education.

On this occasion, malnourished children who came to the camp with their mothers were given chocolates containing multivitamins and other food supplements. Mothers were instructed to take care of their children's health, and meet their nutritional needs so that they can be healthy and protected from diseases. Meanwhile, District Health Authority Focal Person Dr Waqar said that from February 1 to 3, mobile health and family planning camps are being organised across the district, where women will undergo free medical check-ups in addition to the supply of food and essential medications and counselling on the importance of family planning.

“The children, who are underweight and in poor health, will get multivitamin-filled chocolates and other food supplements to help control the consequences of malnutrition on their health, and their mothers will regularly receive guidance on how to lead a healthy lifestyle,” he said.