Moot discusses infant mental health

ISLAMABAD:

Health Services Academy (HSA) Vice Chancellor Dr Shahzad Ali Khan has stressed the need to make joint efforts to combat infant mortality in Pakistan.

Talking to media at the conclusion of Pakistan's First Infant Mental Health Conference: Baby Matters, he said that newborn or infant mortality rate was very high in Pakistan. He said that as per research, babies would be more productive and efficient at adult age if they are mentally and physically fit in early age.

Pakistan's first multi-disciplinary conference on Infant Mental Health - Baby Matters was organised to discuss infant mental health issues. It was attended by renowned professors and experts from major universities of the world including USA, UK, South Africa, Australia and Philippines, who were other than those that joined online.

"We are going to apply for a world-renowned association membership named World Infant and Mental Health Association with the help of these foreign experts," said Dr Shahzad Ali Khan, expressing the hope that the membership will open new avenues of research and treatment in Pakistan.

"The time has now come to take practical initiatives and start field work to give benefit to the people to protect their newborns," he said,

The conference brought together healthcare professionals, educators, researchers and policymakers to discuss the critical importance of infant mental health.