PMA wants preventive health taught at schools

Says it will educate children about preventive measures for diseases.

LAHORE:

The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has proposed that health education be taught as a compulsory subject at schools.

A letter carrying the suggestion was sent to the chief minister on Friday. Similar letters will be sent to the prime minister, the president and chief ministers of other provinces on Monday, a PMA spokesperson said.

The letter says that the preventive aspect of the health care remain largely neglected. The billions of rupees being spent on cures, it says, cannot curb diseases, specifically epidemics.

PMA has sought the government to introduce health education as a compulsory subject at elementary and middle school. However, at matriculation level, it suggested, the subject could be offered as an elective subject.

The association said that teaching this subject will help educate children about preventive measures for diseases like dengue, hepatitis, malaria and gastroenteritis. It has also suggested including a chapter on the hazards of smoking.

The PMA, in the letter, said that a doctor each should be appointed at the schools to teach the subject.

Talking to The Express Tribune, PMA General Secretary Dr Izhar Chaudhry said he hoped the implementation of the proposal would bring a major change in the people’s attitude towards health.

“A majority of our population lives in the rural areas, where people are not aware of communicable diseases. Such awareness can do wonders,” he said.

Citing the dengue awareness campaign, Dr Chaudhry said the Punjab government’s efforts had paid off this year.

He said while general science was a compulsory subject till middle school, teaching health education as a separate subject will not only benefit the children and their families in general, but also students who seek later to pursue medicine.

He said the PMA had assured the government of its cooperation at every step including design of curricula.

An official of the Punjab Education Sector Reforms Programme, which advises government on education policy making, said that including a new subject at school level was a hectic job that required a lot of work and resources. He said experts from several departments will need to sit together and brainstorm before any new subject could be introduced in schools.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 19^th, 2012.