Mummy and me: US donates incubators to JPMC, Civil hospitals

Health minister wants USAID to help rebuild 270 hospitals.

KARACHI:

There is nothing more important than saving the life of a newborn baby, said US Consul General William Martin, while talking about the American government’s commitment to improve the healthcare system in the country, especially Sindh. “Healthy mothers and healthy babies are the cornerstone of a healthy society.”

On Friday, the consul general handed over 10 new ‘Lullaby XP’ incubators created by the Finnish company, General Electric Healthcare (GE), to the Sindh health department at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC). Out of the 10 incubators, two were given to the JPMC, while the rest will be divided between the Civil hospitals in Karachi, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar, Dadu and the taluka hospital of Tando Adam and Ganga Bai Hospital in Shikarpur. According to Martin, thousands of children would be able to use these new facilities throughout the province. This, he remarked, would ensure that their smiles last for generations.

According to the JPMC nursery in-charge Dr Deedar Ahmed, there was a desperate need for better equipment in order to improve their childcare facilities. He said that with the addition of the two new incubators, JPMC now had six in total.

The hospital’s executive director, Prof. Tasnim Ahsan said that nearly 50 babies were born daily. There were only two wards with 65 beds for children. “We are looking forward to building the new unit in collaboration with the American government,” she said. “Ambassador Munter was present for the ground-breaking ceremony last year.”

Health minister asks for help

The provincial health minister, Dr Sagheer Ahmed, had asked the US consul general to help out with the healthcare sector. He said that nearly 270 hospitals in 19 districts of Sindh had been completely destroyed by the floods last year. He urged them to help rebuild the hospitals. The minister added that the health sector was facing severe financial problems and challenges especially after the devolution of JPMC and two other hospitals.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 5^th,  2011.