School Health Screening Program To Be Proved Game-changer: Minister

Caretaker Punjab Health Minister Dr. Javed Akram has said that the present government's initiative school health screening project will be proved historic and game changer

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Jun, 2023 ) :Caretaker Punjab Health Minister Dr. Javed Akram has said that the present government's initiative school health screening project will be proved historic and game changer.

This was expressed by him while jointly presiding over a meeting with Health Minister Dr Nasir Jamal, held in the Department of Specialized Healthcare and Medical education here on Thursday.

He said that the program would protect the present and future generations from dangerous diseases in the province.

He said that for the first time in the history of Pakistan, children were going to be screened on such a large scale.

Caretaker Punjab Minister of Primary and Secondary Health Care Department Dr. Jamal Nasir said that the PHC would audit all the laboratories regarding the health screening of children.

Families of patients suffering from dangerous diseases like thalassemia go through extreme pain every day, he said. The minister said that parents could save their children from lifelong disabilities through school health screening program.

Earlier, the ministers reviewed the measures regarding blood screening of the 9th grade students in educational institutions of Punjab.

Additional Secretary Agha Nabeel informed about the details in this regard in the meeting.

He informed that every child would be screened for various diseases including thalassemia before the 9th class examination. He said that final approval of the proposed legislation by the Law Department would be given by the Punjab Cabinet. The Punjab Health Care Commission would play an important role in health screening of children. All technical aspects would be reviewed in this regard in the steering committee, he added.

Secretary Health Punjab Ali Jan Khan, Special Secretary Syed Wajid Ali Shah, Barrister Mudassar Ishaq and Mohammad Nader from Law department, Deputy Secretary Dr. Abdul Rehman, Vice Chancellor University of Health Sciences Prof. Dr. Ahsan Waheed Rathore, Pro Vice Chancellor King Edward Medical University Prof. Dr. Ijaz Hussain, Principal Services Institute of Medical Sciences Prof. Dr. Farooq Afzal, Dean Institute of Public Health Prof. Dr. Zarfashan Tahir, Dr. Hussain Jafari, Dr. Yasmin Ehsan, Director Punjab Healthcare Commission Dr. Anwar Janjua, Prof. Dr. Faiza Bashir, Prof. Shabnam Majeed, MD Children's Hospital Dr. Tipu, Chairman Lahore board Muhammad Habib and other officers attended the meeting.