Schoolchildren paying price for nepotism

Persistent lethargy, aching joints, and a weakened memory is a reality many low-income schoolchildren in Sindh routinely face and their plight has been exacerbated by the government shutting down the free basic screenings for nutritional deficiencies and early onset diseases.

Despite the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) globally declaring the provision of fundamental healthcare in schools a primary health goal, government schools across Sindh have abolished the School Health Service Program.

It is pertinent to mention that the School Health Services Program was initiated in 1987, under which unemployed doctors were recruited in government schools for offering basic health facilities, including deficiency screenings, dental check-ups, and early-stage disease diagnosis. Under the program children were also given the smallpox vaccination in schools and essential supplements were also provided free of cost to children suffering from the vitamin-A deficiency.

“Almost 1,500 students were examined by each doctor under the School Health Services Program which offered basic health and check-up facilities in schools to students from primary to matric. Health cards were also issued to the students for the first time under this program,” informed Dr Asif Zaman, the former deputy project director of the program.

The closure of the program has hit parents hard. Javed Alam, a father from Liaquatabad, shared his struggle affording regular health checkups for his children after the government abolished free health services in schools. “As the weather has started to change, our children are increasingly affected by the common cold and flu. However, they can no longer receive a diagnosis and treatment at school due to which we have to bear the additional expenditure on doctor consultation and medicines. Since most doctors readily prescribe antibiotics in case of any illness, a week’s course costs us almost Rs1,000 per child,” deplored Alam.

While parents now look for alternatives to the program, as per various health department sources familiar with the matter the high prevalence of nepotism in the appointments of doctors in the School Health Service Program alongside the consistent absence of medical staff from duty had come under severe criticism, resulting in the termination of the project and the transfer of 423 doctors to different hospitals by the Health Department of Sindh.

“School health services was abolished after unfair appointments of doctors on the basis of political influence gradually reduced its effectiveness,” concurred Dr Shahnaz, a retired lady doctor at the School Health Services Program, who worried for the overall wellbeing of children that will no longer receive mandatory screenings for nutritive deficiencies.

Sharing Dr Shahnaz’s sentiments, nutritionists like Azra Rasool stress the importance of diagnosing nutritional deficiencies in children, which can hamper their mental development and academic potential. “Iron deficiency and protein deficiency compromise the cognitive and immune functioning of children, due to which they are unable to focus on their studies and excel academically,” elucidated Rasool. In an attempt to inquire about the closure of the program, the Express Tribune contacted the provincial Minister of Health but did not hear back from him.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 15^th, 2023.