Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System in seven districts (WHO)

World Health Organization (WHO) Operations Officer Dr. Babar Alam has announced that the WHO with the collaboration of the Punjab government is going to establish ‘Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System’ in seven districts of the province.
He made this announcement while addressing a one-day orientation workshop on ‘Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance in Punjab’ organized by WHO in collaboration with health department at a local hotel on Thursday. He said that Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System would cover district of Multan, Gujranwala, Muzafargarh, DG Khan, Rajanpur, Layah and Bhakar.
Special Assistant to Chief Minister on HWHOealth Khawaja Salman Rafique, Health Director-General Dr. Nisar Ahmad Cheema, Lahore Health Executive District Officer (EDO) Dr Inamul Haq also attended the workshop besides representatives of the WHO.
He said that the proposed Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance would help Punjab government to improve health of the people in general and streamline everything regarding nutrition in particular. Khawaja Salman Rafique said that the main objectives of surveillance system were to assess on a continuous basis the nutritional and related health status of the children at the selected sites, to identify and highlight the evolution and projected trends towards a nutritional and health emergency as related to food crises.


Courtesy of: WHO

Drug testing: WHO mission visits various labs in Lahore

World Health Organisation Mission on Assessing Drug Testing Laboratory (quality control laboratory) Capacity and Functioning has stressed that knowledge and skills of the staff engaged in maintenance of quality management system in the laboratory should be improved.
WHO Mission comprising Michael Ged Lee, Head of MHRA Lab UK; Juhan Ruut, Head of Estonia Lab; and Khalid Saeed Bukhari, Country Advisor Medicine WHO visited Lahore on the request of Federal and Punjab Government to provide technical assistance to assess Drug Testing Laboratory Capacity and its functioning.
The Mission visited various laboratories in the City of Lahore and also met with Secretary Health Punjab Arif Nadeem to resolve the issue by providing technical assistance to the government.

Secretary Health Arif Nadeem said, "The assessment of the existing capacity of a National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) is meant to bring out the existing competencies and identify gaps, which are required to be addressed if NMRA is to be effective in its regulatory functions."
Therefore, he said the assistance of WHO experts in advising the government of Pakistan to establish medicines regulatory authority at federal and provincial level was urgently requested and the final outcome of the exercise would improve the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of the NMRA in ensuring that the public accesses good quality medicines and health related products.
Dr Khalid Saeed Bukhari, Country Advisor Medicine WHO, said the government of Pakistan requested WHO to provide its technical assistance regarding Capacity and Functioning of Drugs Testing Labs in Lahore, that was why we are here, visiting and assessing the Laboratories for Drugs related Medicines.
Dr Bukhari said WHO mission was to map the role and functioning of medicines Quality Control (QC) laboratory in the local regulatory framework and to understand to which extent their present operations are helping to ensure medicines quality in the country.
"We are also assessing that up to which extent the laboratories are operated according to the principles of WHO recommended standards and are prepared for meeting the WHO-prequalification standards," he added.
The Mission also advised the laboratories how to improve structure and operation to better match the principles of laid down in WHO GPCL (Good practices of pharmaceutical quality control labs) and what should be changed in short, mid and long terms in order to achieve that the medicines QC laboratories have the maximum impact on ensuring the quality of medicines in the country.


Courtesy of: WHO

Countries should counter antimicrobial resistant bacteria: WHO

The World Health Organization has asked the countries to implement infection control measures and counter antimicrobial resistant bacteria.
WHO has identified Antimicrobial Resistance as a growing‚ global public health problem.
The members of the world community have also been asked to reinforce national policy on prudent use of antibiotics‚ reducing the generation of antibiotic resistant bacteria.


Courtesy of: WHO

Health potential tool for peace: WHO

WORLD Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Pakistan Dr Guido Sabatinelli has said that health can serve as an effective tool for peace in the South Asian context.He made these remarks on the sideline of the health session of Indo-Pak economic conference held under the aegis of ‘Aman Ki Asha’ at a hotel here on Monday.

Recounting his experiences in Palestine, Jordan and other countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region like Afghanistan that had been affected with war or civil strife since over three decades in addition to South American countries notably El Salvador and Peru and Pakistan itself, he said the polio campaigns had offered temporary respite to the population in conflict zones.

Referring to the situation in South Asia, Dr Sabatinelli pointed out that in the past, conflicts between the two countries had often led to mortality, disease and suffering. Psychological disturbances were also commonly witnessed in the affected population with symptoms such as depression, anxiety, anger, violent behavior, and suicide, he said. While the United Nations was mandated to improve both peace and health by paying attention to the humanitarian needs of such populations, WHO focused mainly on the health needs, he added.

The WHO representative traced the history of the health for peace efforts to the 1980s in Latin America, based on the belief that health, because of its unique value and universal acceptance, could serve as a bridge for peace, solidarity, and understanding among the peoples.

He said the strategy had often resulted in positive outcome in enhancing routine EPI coverage, polio eradication campaigns, general health promotion activities, and the control of Tuberculosis, Malaria and HIV/AIDS besides jointly addressing other public health issues after establishing a peace-through-health discipline.

Dr Sabatinelli also referred to a resolution of the World Health Assembly that asserted that the role of physicians and other health workers in the maintaining and promotion of peace was the most significant for attainment of health for all. He hoped that the conference by Aman Ki Asha would lead to health gains in both the India and Pakistan countries through cross-border collaboration. Dr Ghulam Nabi Kazi and Ms Gul Afridi also represented WHO in the session.


Courtesy of: WHO

Nutrition reports paint grim picture

The nutrition situation poses a huge challenge for Punjab in particular and Pakistan in general as the country aims to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. This was stated by Punjab Special Assistant to CM on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique while speaking at a one-day orientation workshop on ‘Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance at Punjab’.
The workshop was organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), in collaboration with the Health Department at the Avari Hotel on Thursday.
Rafique said the levels of malnutrition are unacceptably high and will not only represent a challenge in reaching the Millennium Development Goals but will also constrain economic growth.
According to the National Nutrition Survey 2011, 58 percent of households are food insecure in Pakistan while 59.5 percent of these are in Punjab, said WHO Nutrition Technical Officer Dr Khizar Ashraf.
He said more than 29.7 percent of the children under five years of age, are underweight for their age. 43.7 percent of the children are affected by stunting and about 15.1 percent by wasting. 62.1 percent of children and 26.1 percent of pregnant women have anaemia in Pakistan.


Courtesy of: WHO

Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System in seven districts (WHO)

World Health Organization (WHO) Operations Officer Dr. Babar Alam has announced that the WHO with the collaboration of the Punjab government is going to establish ‘Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System’ in seven districts of the province.
He made this announcement while addressing a one-day orientation workshop on ‘Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance in Punjab’ organized by WHO in collaboration with health department at a local hotel on Thursday. He said that Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System would cover district of Multan, Gujranwala, Muzafargarh, DG Khan, Rajanpur, Layah and Bhakar.
Special Assistant to Chief Minister on HWHOealth Khawaja Salman Rafique, Health Director-General Dr. Nisar Ahmad Cheema, Lahore Health Executive District Officer (EDO) Dr Inamul Haq also attended the workshop besides representatives of the WHO.
He said that the proposed Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance would help Punjab government to improve health of the people in general and streamline everything regarding nutrition in particular. Khawaja Salman Rafique said that the main objectives of surveillance system were to assess on a continuous basis the nutritional and related health status of the children at the selected sites, to identify and highlight the evolution and projected trends towards a nutritional and health emergency as related to food crises.


Courtesy of: WHO

Drug testing: WHO mission visits various labs in Lahore

World Health Organisation Mission on Assessing Drug Testing Laboratory (quality control laboratory) Capacity and Functioning has stressed that knowledge and skills of the staff engaged in maintenance of quality management system in the laboratory should be improved.
WHO Mission comprising Michael Ged Lee, Head of MHRA Lab UK; Juhan Ruut, Head of Estonia Lab; and Khalid Saeed Bukhari, Country Advisor Medicine WHO visited Lahore on the request of Federal and Punjab Government to provide technical assistance to assess Drug Testing Laboratory Capacity and its functioning.
The Mission visited various laboratories in the City of Lahore and also met with Secretary Health Punjab Arif Nadeem to resolve the issue by providing technical assistance to the government.

Secretary Health Arif Nadeem said, "The assessment of the existing capacity of a National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) is meant to bring out the existing competencies and identify gaps, which are required to be addressed if NMRA is to be effective in its regulatory functions."
Therefore, he said the assistance of WHO experts in advising the government of Pakistan to establish medicines regulatory authority at federal and provincial level was urgently requested and the final outcome of the exercise would improve the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of the NMRA in ensuring that the public accesses good quality medicines and health related products.
Dr Khalid Saeed Bukhari, Country Advisor Medicine WHO, said the government of Pakistan requested WHO to provide its technical assistance regarding Capacity and Functioning of Drugs Testing Labs in Lahore, that was why we are here, visiting and assessing the Laboratories for Drugs related Medicines.
Dr Bukhari said WHO mission was to map the role and functioning of medicines Quality Control (QC) laboratory in the local regulatory framework and to understand to which extent their present operations are helping to ensure medicines quality in the country.
"We are also assessing that up to which extent the laboratories are operated according to the principles of WHO recommended standards and are prepared for meeting the WHO-prequalification standards," he added.
The Mission also advised the laboratories how to improve structure and operation to better match the principles of laid down in WHO GPCL (Good practices of pharmaceutical quality control labs) and what should be changed in short, mid and long terms in order to achieve that the medicines QC laboratories have the maximum impact on ensuring the quality of medicines in the country.


Courtesy of: WHO

Countries should counter antimicrobial resistant bacteria: WHO

The World Health Organization has asked the countries to implement infection control measures and counter antimicrobial resistant bacteria.
WHO has identified Antimicrobial Resistance as a growing‚ global public health problem.
The members of the world community have also been asked to reinforce national policy on prudent use of antibiotics‚ reducing the generation of antibiotic resistant bacteria.


Courtesy of: WHO

Health potential tool for peace: WHO

WORLD Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Pakistan Dr Guido Sabatinelli has said that health can serve as an effective tool for peace in the South Asian context.He made these remarks on the sideline of the health session of Indo-Pak economic conference held under the aegis of ‘Aman Ki Asha’ at a hotel here on Monday.

Recounting his experiences in Palestine, Jordan and other countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region like Afghanistan that had been affected with war or civil strife since over three decades in addition to South American countries notably El Salvador and Peru and Pakistan itself, he said the polio campaigns had offered temporary respite to the population in conflict zones.

Referring to the situation in South Asia, Dr Sabatinelli pointed out that in the past, conflicts between the two countries had often led to mortality, disease and suffering. Psychological disturbances were also commonly witnessed in the affected population with symptoms such as depression, anxiety, anger, violent behavior, and suicide, he said. While the United Nations was mandated to improve both peace and health by paying attention to the humanitarian needs of such populations, WHO focused mainly on the health needs, he added.

The WHO representative traced the history of the health for peace efforts to the 1980s in Latin America, based on the belief that health, because of its unique value and universal acceptance, could serve as a bridge for peace, solidarity, and understanding among the peoples.

He said the strategy had often resulted in positive outcome in enhancing routine EPI coverage, polio eradication campaigns, general health promotion activities, and the control of Tuberculosis, Malaria and HIV/AIDS besides jointly addressing other public health issues after establishing a peace-through-health discipline.

Dr Sabatinelli also referred to a resolution of the World Health Assembly that asserted that the role of physicians and other health workers in the maintaining and promotion of peace was the most significant for attainment of health for all. He hoped that the conference by Aman Ki Asha would lead to health gains in both the India and Pakistan countries through cross-border collaboration. Dr Ghulam Nabi Kazi and Ms Gul Afridi also represented WHO in the session.


Courtesy of: WHO

Nutrition reports paint grim picture

The nutrition situation poses a huge challenge for Punjab in particular and Pakistan in general as the country aims to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. This was stated by Punjab Special Assistant to CM on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique while speaking at a one-day orientation workshop on ‘Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance at Punjab’.
The workshop was organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), in collaboration with the Health Department at the Avari Hotel on Thursday.
Rafique said the levels of malnutrition are unacceptably high and will not only represent a challenge in reaching the Millennium Development Goals but will also constrain economic growth.
According to the National Nutrition Survey 2011, 58 percent of households are food insecure in Pakistan while 59.5 percent of these are in Punjab, said WHO Nutrition Technical Officer Dr Khizar Ashraf.
He said more than 29.7 percent of the children under five years of age, are underweight for their age. 43.7 percent of the children are affected by stunting and about 15.1 percent by wasting. 62.1 percent of children and 26.1 percent of pregnant women have anaemia in Pakistan.


Courtesy of: WHO

Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System in seven districts (WHO)

World Health Organization (WHO) Operations Officer Dr. Babar Alam has announced that the WHO with the collaboration of the Punjab government is going to establish ‘Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System’ in seven districts of the province.
He made this announcement while addressing a one-day orientation workshop on ‘Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance in Punjab’ organized by WHO in collaboration with health department at a local hotel on Thursday. He said that Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System would cover district of Multan, Gujranwala, Muzafargarh, DG Khan, Rajanpur, Layah and Bhakar.
Special Assistant to Chief Minister on HWHOealth Khawaja Salman Rafique, Health Director-General Dr. Nisar Ahmad Cheema, Lahore Health Executive District Officer (EDO) Dr Inamul Haq also attended the workshop besides representatives of the WHO.
He said that the proposed Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance would help Punjab government to improve health of the people in general and streamline everything regarding nutrition in particular. Khawaja Salman Rafique said that the main objectives of surveillance system were to assess on a continuous basis the nutritional and related health status of the children at the selected sites, to identify and highlight the evolution and projected trends towards a nutritional and health emergency as related to food crises.


Courtesy of: WHO

Drug testing: WHO mission visits various labs in Lahore

World Health Organisation Mission on Assessing Drug Testing Laboratory (quality control laboratory) Capacity and Functioning has stressed that knowledge and skills of the staff engaged in maintenance of quality management system in the laboratory should be improved.
WHO Mission comprising Michael Ged Lee, Head of MHRA Lab UK; Juhan Ruut, Head of Estonia Lab; and Khalid Saeed Bukhari, Country Advisor Medicine WHO visited Lahore on the request of Federal and Punjab Government to provide technical assistance to assess Drug Testing Laboratory Capacity and its functioning.
The Mission visited various laboratories in the City of Lahore and also met with Secretary Health Punjab Arif Nadeem to resolve the issue by providing technical assistance to the government.

Secretary Health Arif Nadeem said, "The assessment of the existing capacity of a National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) is meant to bring out the existing competencies and identify gaps, which are required to be addressed if NMRA is to be effective in its regulatory functions."
Therefore, he said the assistance of WHO experts in advising the government of Pakistan to establish medicines regulatory authority at federal and provincial level was urgently requested and the final outcome of the exercise would improve the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of the NMRA in ensuring that the public accesses good quality medicines and health related products.
Dr Khalid Saeed Bukhari, Country Advisor Medicine WHO, said the government of Pakistan requested WHO to provide its technical assistance regarding Capacity and Functioning of Drugs Testing Labs in Lahore, that was why we are here, visiting and assessing the Laboratories for Drugs related Medicines.
Dr Bukhari said WHO mission was to map the role and functioning of medicines Quality Control (QC) laboratory in the local regulatory framework and to understand to which extent their present operations are helping to ensure medicines quality in the country.
"We are also assessing that up to which extent the laboratories are operated according to the principles of WHO recommended standards and are prepared for meeting the WHO-prequalification standards," he added.
The Mission also advised the laboratories how to improve structure and operation to better match the principles of laid down in WHO GPCL (Good practices of pharmaceutical quality control labs) and what should be changed in short, mid and long terms in order to achieve that the medicines QC laboratories have the maximum impact on ensuring the quality of medicines in the country.


Courtesy of: WHO

Countries should counter antimicrobial resistant bacteria: WHO

The World Health Organization has asked the countries to implement infection control measures and counter antimicrobial resistant bacteria.
WHO has identified Antimicrobial Resistance as a growing‚ global public health problem.
The members of the world community have also been asked to reinforce national policy on prudent use of antibiotics‚ reducing the generation of antibiotic resistant bacteria.


Courtesy of: WHO

Health potential tool for peace: WHO

WORLD Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Pakistan Dr Guido Sabatinelli has said that health can serve as an effective tool for peace in the South Asian context.He made these remarks on the sideline of the health session of Indo-Pak economic conference held under the aegis of ‘Aman Ki Asha’ at a hotel here on Monday.

Recounting his experiences in Palestine, Jordan and other countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region like Afghanistan that had been affected with war or civil strife since over three decades in addition to South American countries notably El Salvador and Peru and Pakistan itself, he said the polio campaigns had offered temporary respite to the population in conflict zones.

Referring to the situation in South Asia, Dr Sabatinelli pointed out that in the past, conflicts between the two countries had often led to mortality, disease and suffering. Psychological disturbances were also commonly witnessed in the affected population with symptoms such as depression, anxiety, anger, violent behavior, and suicide, he said. While the United Nations was mandated to improve both peace and health by paying attention to the humanitarian needs of such populations, WHO focused mainly on the health needs, he added.

The WHO representative traced the history of the health for peace efforts to the 1980s in Latin America, based on the belief that health, because of its unique value and universal acceptance, could serve as a bridge for peace, solidarity, and understanding among the peoples.

He said the strategy had often resulted in positive outcome in enhancing routine EPI coverage, polio eradication campaigns, general health promotion activities, and the control of Tuberculosis, Malaria and HIV/AIDS besides jointly addressing other public health issues after establishing a peace-through-health discipline.

Dr Sabatinelli also referred to a resolution of the World Health Assembly that asserted that the role of physicians and other health workers in the maintaining and promotion of peace was the most significant for attainment of health for all. He hoped that the conference by Aman Ki Asha would lead to health gains in both the India and Pakistan countries through cross-border collaboration. Dr Ghulam Nabi Kazi and Ms Gul Afridi also represented WHO in the session.


Courtesy of: WHO

Nutrition reports paint grim picture

The nutrition situation poses a huge challenge for Punjab in particular and Pakistan in general as the country aims to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. This was stated by Punjab Special Assistant to CM on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique while speaking at a one-day orientation workshop on ‘Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance at Punjab’.
The workshop was organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), in collaboration with the Health Department at the Avari Hotel on Thursday.
Rafique said the levels of malnutrition are unacceptably high and will not only represent a challenge in reaching the Millennium Development Goals but will also constrain economic growth.
According to the National Nutrition Survey 2011, 58 percent of households are food insecure in Pakistan while 59.5 percent of these are in Punjab, said WHO Nutrition Technical Officer Dr Khizar Ashraf.
He said more than 29.7 percent of the children under five years of age, are underweight for their age. 43.7 percent of the children are affected by stunting and about 15.1 percent by wasting. 62.1 percent of children and 26.1 percent of pregnant women have anaemia in Pakistan.


Courtesy of: WHO

Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System in seven districts (WHO)

World Health Organization (WHO) Operations Officer Dr. Babar Alam has announced that the WHO with the collaboration of the Punjab government is going to establish ‘Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System’ in seven districts of the province.
He made this announcement while addressing a one-day orientation workshop on ‘Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance in Punjab’ organized by WHO in collaboration with health department at a local hotel on Thursday. He said that Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System would cover district of Multan, Gujranwala, Muzafargarh, DG Khan, Rajanpur, Layah and Bhakar.
Special Assistant to Chief Minister on HWHOealth Khawaja Salman Rafique, Health Director-General Dr. Nisar Ahmad Cheema, Lahore Health Executive District Officer (EDO) Dr Inamul Haq also attended the workshop besides representatives of the WHO.
He said that the proposed Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance would help Punjab government to improve health of the people in general and streamline everything regarding nutrition in particular. Khawaja Salman Rafique said that the main objectives of surveillance system were to assess on a continuous basis the nutritional and related health status of the children at the selected sites, to identify and highlight the evolution and projected trends towards a nutritional and health emergency as related to food crises.


Courtesy of: WHO

Drug testing: WHO mission visits various labs in Lahore

World Health Organisation Mission on Assessing Drug Testing Laboratory (quality control laboratory) Capacity and Functioning has stressed that knowledge and skills of the staff engaged in maintenance of quality management system in the laboratory should be improved.
WHO Mission comprising Michael Ged Lee, Head of MHRA Lab UK; Juhan Ruut, Head of Estonia Lab; and Khalid Saeed Bukhari, Country Advisor Medicine WHO visited Lahore on the request of Federal and Punjab Government to provide technical assistance to assess Drug Testing Laboratory Capacity and its functioning.
The Mission visited various laboratories in the City of Lahore and also met with Secretary Health Punjab Arif Nadeem to resolve the issue by providing technical assistance to the government.

Secretary Health Arif Nadeem said, "The assessment of the existing capacity of a National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) is meant to bring out the existing competencies and identify gaps, which are required to be addressed if NMRA is to be effective in its regulatory functions."
Therefore, he said the assistance of WHO experts in advising the government of Pakistan to establish medicines regulatory authority at federal and provincial level was urgently requested and the final outcome of the exercise would improve the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of the NMRA in ensuring that the public accesses good quality medicines and health related products.
Dr Khalid Saeed Bukhari, Country Advisor Medicine WHO, said the government of Pakistan requested WHO to provide its technical assistance regarding Capacity and Functioning of Drugs Testing Labs in Lahore, that was why we are here, visiting and assessing the Laboratories for Drugs related Medicines.
Dr Bukhari said WHO mission was to map the role and functioning of medicines Quality Control (QC) laboratory in the local regulatory framework and to understand to which extent their present operations are helping to ensure medicines quality in the country.
"We are also assessing that up to which extent the laboratories are operated according to the principles of WHO recommended standards and are prepared for meeting the WHO-prequalification standards," he added.
The Mission also advised the laboratories how to improve structure and operation to better match the principles of laid down in WHO GPCL (Good practices of pharmaceutical quality control labs) and what should be changed in short, mid and long terms in order to achieve that the medicines QC laboratories have the maximum impact on ensuring the quality of medicines in the country.


Courtesy of: WHO

Countries should counter antimicrobial resistant bacteria: WHO

The World Health Organization has asked the countries to implement infection control measures and counter antimicrobial resistant bacteria.
WHO has identified Antimicrobial Resistance as a growing‚ global public health problem.
The members of the world community have also been asked to reinforce national policy on prudent use of antibiotics‚ reducing the generation of antibiotic resistant bacteria.


Courtesy of: WHO

Health potential tool for peace: WHO

WORLD Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Pakistan Dr Guido Sabatinelli has said that health can serve as an effective tool for peace in the South Asian context.He made these remarks on the sideline of the health session of Indo-Pak economic conference held under the aegis of ‘Aman Ki Asha’ at a hotel here on Monday.

Recounting his experiences in Palestine, Jordan and other countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region like Afghanistan that had been affected with war or civil strife since over three decades in addition to South American countries notably El Salvador and Peru and Pakistan itself, he said the polio campaigns had offered temporary respite to the population in conflict zones.

Referring to the situation in South Asia, Dr Sabatinelli pointed out that in the past, conflicts between the two countries had often led to mortality, disease and suffering. Psychological disturbances were also commonly witnessed in the affected population with symptoms such as depression, anxiety, anger, violent behavior, and suicide, he said. While the United Nations was mandated to improve both peace and health by paying attention to the humanitarian needs of such populations, WHO focused mainly on the health needs, he added.

The WHO representative traced the history of the health for peace efforts to the 1980s in Latin America, based on the belief that health, because of its unique value and universal acceptance, could serve as a bridge for peace, solidarity, and understanding among the peoples.

He said the strategy had often resulted in positive outcome in enhancing routine EPI coverage, polio eradication campaigns, general health promotion activities, and the control of Tuberculosis, Malaria and HIV/AIDS besides jointly addressing other public health issues after establishing a peace-through-health discipline.

Dr Sabatinelli also referred to a resolution of the World Health Assembly that asserted that the role of physicians and other health workers in the maintaining and promotion of peace was the most significant for attainment of health for all. He hoped that the conference by Aman Ki Asha would lead to health gains in both the India and Pakistan countries through cross-border collaboration. Dr Ghulam Nabi Kazi and Ms Gul Afridi also represented WHO in the session.


Courtesy of: WHO

Nutrition reports paint grim picture

The nutrition situation poses a huge challenge for Punjab in particular and Pakistan in general as the country aims to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. This was stated by Punjab Special Assistant to CM on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique while speaking at a one-day orientation workshop on ‘Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance at Punjab’.
The workshop was organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), in collaboration with the Health Department at the Avari Hotel on Thursday.
Rafique said the levels of malnutrition are unacceptably high and will not only represent a challenge in reaching the Millennium Development Goals but will also constrain economic growth.
According to the National Nutrition Survey 2011, 58 percent of households are food insecure in Pakistan while 59.5 percent of these are in Punjab, said WHO Nutrition Technical Officer Dr Khizar Ashraf.
He said more than 29.7 percent of the children under five years of age, are underweight for their age. 43.7 percent of the children are affected by stunting and about 15.1 percent by wasting. 62.1 percent of children and 26.1 percent of pregnant women have anaemia in Pakistan.


Courtesy of: WHO

Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System in seven districts (WHO)

World Health Organization (WHO) Operations Officer Dr. Babar Alam has announced that the WHO with the collaboration of the Punjab government is going to establish ‘Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System’ in seven districts of the province.
He made this announcement while addressing a one-day orientation workshop on ‘Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance in Punjab’ organized by WHO in collaboration with health department at a local hotel on Thursday. He said that Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System would cover district of Multan, Gujranwala, Muzafargarh, DG Khan, Rajanpur, Layah and Bhakar.
Special Assistant to Chief Minister on HWHOealth Khawaja Salman Rafique, Health Director-General Dr. Nisar Ahmad Cheema, Lahore Health Executive District Officer (EDO) Dr Inamul Haq also attended the workshop besides representatives of the WHO.
He said that the proposed Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance would help Punjab government to improve health of the people in general and streamline everything regarding nutrition in particular. Khawaja Salman Rafique said that the main objectives of surveillance system were to assess on a continuous basis the nutritional and related health status of the children at the selected sites, to identify and highlight the evolution and projected trends towards a nutritional and health emergency as related to food crises.


Courtesy of: WHO

Drug testing: WHO mission visits various labs in Lahore

World Health Organisation Mission on Assessing Drug Testing Laboratory (quality control laboratory) Capacity and Functioning has stressed that knowledge and skills of the staff engaged in maintenance of quality management system in the laboratory should be improved.
WHO Mission comprising Michael Ged Lee, Head of MHRA Lab UK; Juhan Ruut, Head of Estonia Lab; and Khalid Saeed Bukhari, Country Advisor Medicine WHO visited Lahore on the request of Federal and Punjab Government to provide technical assistance to assess Drug Testing Laboratory Capacity and its functioning.
The Mission visited various laboratories in the City of Lahore and also met with Secretary Health Punjab Arif Nadeem to resolve the issue by providing technical assistance to the government.

Secretary Health Arif Nadeem said, "The assessment of the existing capacity of a National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) is meant to bring out the existing competencies and identify gaps, which are required to be addressed if NMRA is to be effective in its regulatory functions."
Therefore, he said the assistance of WHO experts in advising the government of Pakistan to establish medicines regulatory authority at federal and provincial level was urgently requested and the final outcome of the exercise would improve the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of the NMRA in ensuring that the public accesses good quality medicines and health related products.
Dr Khalid Saeed Bukhari, Country Advisor Medicine WHO, said the government of Pakistan requested WHO to provide its technical assistance regarding Capacity and Functioning of Drugs Testing Labs in Lahore, that was why we are here, visiting and assessing the Laboratories for Drugs related Medicines.
Dr Bukhari said WHO mission was to map the role and functioning of medicines Quality Control (QC) laboratory in the local regulatory framework and to understand to which extent their present operations are helping to ensure medicines quality in the country.
"We are also assessing that up to which extent the laboratories are operated according to the principles of WHO recommended standards and are prepared for meeting the WHO-prequalification standards," he added.
The Mission also advised the laboratories how to improve structure and operation to better match the principles of laid down in WHO GPCL (Good practices of pharmaceutical quality control labs) and what should be changed in short, mid and long terms in order to achieve that the medicines QC laboratories have the maximum impact on ensuring the quality of medicines in the country.


Courtesy of: WHO

Countries should counter antimicrobial resistant bacteria: WHO

The World Health Organization has asked the countries to implement infection control measures and counter antimicrobial resistant bacteria.
WHO has identified Antimicrobial Resistance as a growing‚ global public health problem.
The members of the world community have also been asked to reinforce national policy on prudent use of antibiotics‚ reducing the generation of antibiotic resistant bacteria.


Courtesy of: WHO

Health potential tool for peace: WHO

WORLD Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Pakistan Dr Guido Sabatinelli has said that health can serve as an effective tool for peace in the South Asian context.He made these remarks on the sideline of the health session of Indo-Pak economic conference held under the aegis of ‘Aman Ki Asha’ at a hotel here on Monday.

Recounting his experiences in Palestine, Jordan and other countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region like Afghanistan that had been affected with war or civil strife since over three decades in addition to South American countries notably El Salvador and Peru and Pakistan itself, he said the polio campaigns had offered temporary respite to the population in conflict zones.

Referring to the situation in South Asia, Dr Sabatinelli pointed out that in the past, conflicts between the two countries had often led to mortality, disease and suffering. Psychological disturbances were also commonly witnessed in the affected population with symptoms such as depression, anxiety, anger, violent behavior, and suicide, he said. While the United Nations was mandated to improve both peace and health by paying attention to the humanitarian needs of such populations, WHO focused mainly on the health needs, he added.

The WHO representative traced the history of the health for peace efforts to the 1980s in Latin America, based on the belief that health, because of its unique value and universal acceptance, could serve as a bridge for peace, solidarity, and understanding among the peoples.

He said the strategy had often resulted in positive outcome in enhancing routine EPI coverage, polio eradication campaigns, general health promotion activities, and the control of Tuberculosis, Malaria and HIV/AIDS besides jointly addressing other public health issues after establishing a peace-through-health discipline.

Dr Sabatinelli also referred to a resolution of the World Health Assembly that asserted that the role of physicians and other health workers in the maintaining and promotion of peace was the most significant for attainment of health for all. He hoped that the conference by Aman Ki Asha would lead to health gains in both the India and Pakistan countries through cross-border collaboration. Dr Ghulam Nabi Kazi and Ms Gul Afridi also represented WHO in the session.


Courtesy of: WHO

Nutrition reports paint grim picture

The nutrition situation poses a huge challenge for Punjab in particular and Pakistan in general as the country aims to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. This was stated by Punjab Special Assistant to CM on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique while speaking at a one-day orientation workshop on ‘Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance at Punjab’.
The workshop was organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), in collaboration with the Health Department at the Avari Hotel on Thursday.
Rafique said the levels of malnutrition are unacceptably high and will not only represent a challenge in reaching the Millennium Development Goals but will also constrain economic growth.
According to the National Nutrition Survey 2011, 58 percent of households are food insecure in Pakistan while 59.5 percent of these are in Punjab, said WHO Nutrition Technical Officer Dr Khizar Ashraf.
He said more than 29.7 percent of the children under five years of age, are underweight for their age. 43.7 percent of the children are affected by stunting and about 15.1 percent by wasting. 62.1 percent of children and 26.1 percent of pregnant women have anaemia in Pakistan.


Courtesy of: WHO

Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System in seven districts (WHO)

World Health Organization (WHO) Operations Officer Dr. Babar Alam has announced that the WHO with the collaboration of the Punjab government is going to establish ‘Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System’ in seven districts of the province.
He made this announcement while addressing a one-day orientation workshop on ‘Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance in Punjab’ organized by WHO in collaboration with health department at a local hotel on Thursday. He said that Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System would cover district of Multan, Gujranwala, Muzafargarh, DG Khan, Rajanpur, Layah and Bhakar.
Special Assistant to Chief Minister on HWHOealth Khawaja Salman Rafique, Health Director-General Dr. Nisar Ahmad Cheema, Lahore Health Executive District Officer (EDO) Dr Inamul Haq also attended the workshop besides representatives of the WHO.
He said that the proposed Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance would help Punjab government to improve health of the people in general and streamline everything regarding nutrition in particular. Khawaja Salman Rafique said that the main objectives of surveillance system were to assess on a continuous basis the nutritional and related health status of the children at the selected sites, to identify and highlight the evolution and projected trends towards a nutritional and health emergency as related to food crises.


Courtesy of: WHO

Drug testing: WHO mission visits various labs in Lahore

World Health Organisation Mission on Assessing Drug Testing Laboratory (quality control laboratory) Capacity and Functioning has stressed that knowledge and skills of the staff engaged in maintenance of quality management system in the laboratory should be improved.
WHO Mission comprising Michael Ged Lee, Head of MHRA Lab UK; Juhan Ruut, Head of Estonia Lab; and Khalid Saeed Bukhari, Country Advisor Medicine WHO visited Lahore on the request of Federal and Punjab Government to provide technical assistance to assess Drug Testing Laboratory Capacity and its functioning.
The Mission visited various laboratories in the City of Lahore and also met with Secretary Health Punjab Arif Nadeem to resolve the issue by providing technical assistance to the government.

Secretary Health Arif Nadeem said, "The assessment of the existing capacity of a National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) is meant to bring out the existing competencies and identify gaps, which are required to be addressed if NMRA is to be effective in its regulatory functions."
Therefore, he said the assistance of WHO experts in advising the government of Pakistan to establish medicines regulatory authority at federal and provincial level was urgently requested and the final outcome of the exercise would improve the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of the NMRA in ensuring that the public accesses good quality medicines and health related products.
Dr Khalid Saeed Bukhari, Country Advisor Medicine WHO, said the government of Pakistan requested WHO to provide its technical assistance regarding Capacity and Functioning of Drugs Testing Labs in Lahore, that was why we are here, visiting and assessing the Laboratories for Drugs related Medicines.
Dr Bukhari said WHO mission was to map the role and functioning of medicines Quality Control (QC) laboratory in the local regulatory framework and to understand to which extent their present operations are helping to ensure medicines quality in the country.
"We are also assessing that up to which extent the laboratories are operated according to the principles of WHO recommended standards and are prepared for meeting the WHO-prequalification standards," he added.
The Mission also advised the laboratories how to improve structure and operation to better match the principles of laid down in WHO GPCL (Good practices of pharmaceutical quality control labs) and what should be changed in short, mid and long terms in order to achieve that the medicines QC laboratories have the maximum impact on ensuring the quality of medicines in the country.


Courtesy of: WHO

Countries should counter antimicrobial resistant bacteria: WHO

The World Health Organization has asked the countries to implement infection control measures and counter antimicrobial resistant bacteria.
WHO has identified Antimicrobial Resistance as a growing‚ global public health problem.
The members of the world community have also been asked to reinforce national policy on prudent use of antibiotics‚ reducing the generation of antibiotic resistant bacteria.


Courtesy of: WHO

Health potential tool for peace: WHO

WORLD Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Pakistan Dr Guido Sabatinelli has said that health can serve as an effective tool for peace in the South Asian context.He made these remarks on the sideline of the health session of Indo-Pak economic conference held under the aegis of ‘Aman Ki Asha’ at a hotel here on Monday.

Recounting his experiences in Palestine, Jordan and other countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region like Afghanistan that had been affected with war or civil strife since over three decades in addition to South American countries notably El Salvador and Peru and Pakistan itself, he said the polio campaigns had offered temporary respite to the population in conflict zones.

Referring to the situation in South Asia, Dr Sabatinelli pointed out that in the past, conflicts between the two countries had often led to mortality, disease and suffering. Psychological disturbances were also commonly witnessed in the affected population with symptoms such as depression, anxiety, anger, violent behavior, and suicide, he said. While the United Nations was mandated to improve both peace and health by paying attention to the humanitarian needs of such populations, WHO focused mainly on the health needs, he added.

The WHO representative traced the history of the health for peace efforts to the 1980s in Latin America, based on the belief that health, because of its unique value and universal acceptance, could serve as a bridge for peace, solidarity, and understanding among the peoples.

He said the strategy had often resulted in positive outcome in enhancing routine EPI coverage, polio eradication campaigns, general health promotion activities, and the control of Tuberculosis, Malaria and HIV/AIDS besides jointly addressing other public health issues after establishing a peace-through-health discipline.

Dr Sabatinelli also referred to a resolution of the World Health Assembly that asserted that the role of physicians and other health workers in the maintaining and promotion of peace was the most significant for attainment of health for all. He hoped that the conference by Aman Ki Asha would lead to health gains in both the India and Pakistan countries through cross-border collaboration. Dr Ghulam Nabi Kazi and Ms Gul Afridi also represented WHO in the session.


Courtesy of: WHO

Nutrition reports paint grim picture

The nutrition situation poses a huge challenge for Punjab in particular and Pakistan in general as the country aims to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. This was stated by Punjab Special Assistant to CM on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique while speaking at a one-day orientation workshop on ‘Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance at Punjab’.
The workshop was organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), in collaboration with the Health Department at the Avari Hotel on Thursday.
Rafique said the levels of malnutrition are unacceptably high and will not only represent a challenge in reaching the Millennium Development Goals but will also constrain economic growth.
According to the National Nutrition Survey 2011, 58 percent of households are food insecure in Pakistan while 59.5 percent of these are in Punjab, said WHO Nutrition Technical Officer Dr Khizar Ashraf.
He said more than 29.7 percent of the children under five years of age, are underweight for their age. 43.7 percent of the children are affected by stunting and about 15.1 percent by wasting. 62.1 percent of children and 26.1 percent of pregnant women have anaemia in Pakistan.


Courtesy of: WHO

Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System in seven districts (WHO)

World Health Organization (WHO) Operations Officer Dr. Babar Alam has announced that the WHO with the collaboration of the Punjab government is going to establish ‘Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System’ in seven districts of the province.
He made this announcement while addressing a one-day orientation workshop on ‘Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance in Punjab’ organized by WHO in collaboration with health department at a local hotel on Thursday. He said that Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System would cover district of Multan, Gujranwala, Muzafargarh, DG Khan, Rajanpur, Layah and Bhakar.
Special Assistant to Chief Minister on HWHOealth Khawaja Salman Rafique, Health Director-General Dr. Nisar Ahmad Cheema, Lahore Health Executive District Officer (EDO) Dr Inamul Haq also attended the workshop besides representatives of the WHO.
He said that the proposed Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance would help Punjab government to improve health of the people in general and streamline everything regarding nutrition in particular. Khawaja Salman Rafique said that the main objectives of surveillance system were to assess on a continuous basis the nutritional and related health status of the children at the selected sites, to identify and highlight the evolution and projected trends towards a nutritional and health emergency as related to food crises.


Courtesy of: WHO

Drug testing: WHO mission visits various labs in Lahore

World Health Organisation Mission on Assessing Drug Testing Laboratory (quality control laboratory) Capacity and Functioning has stressed that knowledge and skills of the staff engaged in maintenance of quality management system in the laboratory should be improved.
WHO Mission comprising Michael Ged Lee, Head of MHRA Lab UK; Juhan Ruut, Head of Estonia Lab; and Khalid Saeed Bukhari, Country Advisor Medicine WHO visited Lahore on the request of Federal and Punjab Government to provide technical assistance to assess Drug Testing Laboratory Capacity and its functioning.
The Mission visited various laboratories in the City of Lahore and also met with Secretary Health Punjab Arif Nadeem to resolve the issue by providing technical assistance to the government.

Secretary Health Arif Nadeem said, "The assessment of the existing capacity of a National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) is meant to bring out the existing competencies and identify gaps, which are required to be addressed if NMRA is to be effective in its regulatory functions."
Therefore, he said the assistance of WHO experts in advising the government of Pakistan to establish medicines regulatory authority at federal and provincial level was urgently requested and the final outcome of the exercise would improve the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of the NMRA in ensuring that the public accesses good quality medicines and health related products.
Dr Khalid Saeed Bukhari, Country Advisor Medicine WHO, said the government of Pakistan requested WHO to provide its technical assistance regarding Capacity and Functioning of Drugs Testing Labs in Lahore, that was why we are here, visiting and assessing the Laboratories for Drugs related Medicines.
Dr Bukhari said WHO mission was to map the role and functioning of medicines Quality Control (QC) laboratory in the local regulatory framework and to understand to which extent their present operations are helping to ensure medicines quality in the country.
"We are also assessing that up to which extent the laboratories are operated according to the principles of WHO recommended standards and are prepared for meeting the WHO-prequalification standards," he added.
The Mission also advised the laboratories how to improve structure and operation to better match the principles of laid down in WHO GPCL (Good practices of pharmaceutical quality control labs) and what should be changed in short, mid and long terms in order to achieve that the medicines QC laboratories have the maximum impact on ensuring the quality of medicines in the country.


Courtesy of: WHO

Countries should counter antimicrobial resistant bacteria: WHO

The World Health Organization has asked the countries to implement infection control measures and counter antimicrobial resistant bacteria.
WHO has identified Antimicrobial Resistance as a growing‚ global public health problem.
The members of the world community have also been asked to reinforce national policy on prudent use of antibiotics‚ reducing the generation of antibiotic resistant bacteria.


Courtesy of: WHO

Health potential tool for peace: WHO

WORLD Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Pakistan Dr Guido Sabatinelli has said that health can serve as an effective tool for peace in the South Asian context.He made these remarks on the sideline of the health session of Indo-Pak economic conference held under the aegis of ‘Aman Ki Asha’ at a hotel here on Monday.

Recounting his experiences in Palestine, Jordan and other countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region like Afghanistan that had been affected with war or civil strife since over three decades in addition to South American countries notably El Salvador and Peru and Pakistan itself, he said the polio campaigns had offered temporary respite to the population in conflict zones.

Referring to the situation in South Asia, Dr Sabatinelli pointed out that in the past, conflicts between the two countries had often led to mortality, disease and suffering. Psychological disturbances were also commonly witnessed in the affected population with symptoms such as depression, anxiety, anger, violent behavior, and suicide, he said. While the United Nations was mandated to improve both peace and health by paying attention to the humanitarian needs of such populations, WHO focused mainly on the health needs, he added.

The WHO representative traced the history of the health for peace efforts to the 1980s in Latin America, based on the belief that health, because of its unique value and universal acceptance, could serve as a bridge for peace, solidarity, and understanding among the peoples.

He said the strategy had often resulted in positive outcome in enhancing routine EPI coverage, polio eradication campaigns, general health promotion activities, and the control of Tuberculosis, Malaria and HIV/AIDS besides jointly addressing other public health issues after establishing a peace-through-health discipline.

Dr Sabatinelli also referred to a resolution of the World Health Assembly that asserted that the role of physicians and other health workers in the maintaining and promotion of peace was the most significant for attainment of health for all. He hoped that the conference by Aman Ki Asha would lead to health gains in both the India and Pakistan countries through cross-border collaboration. Dr Ghulam Nabi Kazi and Ms Gul Afridi also represented WHO in the session.


Courtesy of: WHO

Nutrition reports paint grim picture

The nutrition situation poses a huge challenge for Punjab in particular and Pakistan in general as the country aims to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. This was stated by Punjab Special Assistant to CM on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique while speaking at a one-day orientation workshop on ‘Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance at Punjab’.
The workshop was organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), in collaboration with the Health Department at the Avari Hotel on Thursday.
Rafique said the levels of malnutrition are unacceptably high and will not only represent a challenge in reaching the Millennium Development Goals but will also constrain economic growth.
According to the National Nutrition Survey 2011, 58 percent of households are food insecure in Pakistan while 59.5 percent of these are in Punjab, said WHO Nutrition Technical Officer Dr Khizar Ashraf.
He said more than 29.7 percent of the children under five years of age, are underweight for their age. 43.7 percent of the children are affected by stunting and about 15.1 percent by wasting. 62.1 percent of children and 26.1 percent of pregnant women have anaemia in Pakistan.


Courtesy of: WHO

Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System in seven districts (WHO)

World Health Organization (WHO) Operations Officer Dr. Babar Alam has announced that the WHO with the collaboration of the Punjab government is going to establish ‘Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System’ in seven districts of the province.
He made this announcement while addressing a one-day orientation workshop on ‘Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance in Punjab’ organized by WHO in collaboration with health department at a local hotel on Thursday. He said that Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System would cover district of Multan, Gujranwala, Muzafargarh, DG Khan, Rajanpur, Layah and Bhakar.
Special Assistant to Chief Minister on HWHOealth Khawaja Salman Rafique, Health Director-General Dr. Nisar Ahmad Cheema, Lahore Health Executive District Officer (EDO) Dr Inamul Haq also attended the workshop besides representatives of the WHO.
He said that the proposed Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance would help Punjab government to improve health of the people in general and streamline everything regarding nutrition in particular. Khawaja Salman Rafique said that the main objectives of surveillance system were to assess on a continuous basis the nutritional and related health status of the children at the selected sites, to identify and highlight the evolution and projected trends towards a nutritional and health emergency as related to food crises.


Courtesy of: WHO

Drug testing: WHO mission visits various labs in Lahore

World Health Organisation Mission on Assessing Drug Testing Laboratory (quality control laboratory) Capacity and Functioning has stressed that knowledge and skills of the staff engaged in maintenance of quality management system in the laboratory should be improved.
WHO Mission comprising Michael Ged Lee, Head of MHRA Lab UK; Juhan Ruut, Head of Estonia Lab; and Khalid Saeed Bukhari, Country Advisor Medicine WHO visited Lahore on the request of Federal and Punjab Government to provide technical assistance to assess Drug Testing Laboratory Capacity and its functioning.
The Mission visited various laboratories in the City of Lahore and also met with Secretary Health Punjab Arif Nadeem to resolve the issue by providing technical assistance to the government.

Secretary Health Arif Nadeem said, "The assessment of the existing capacity of a National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) is meant to bring out the existing competencies and identify gaps, which are required to be addressed if NMRA is to be effective in its regulatory functions."
Therefore, he said the assistance of WHO experts in advising the government of Pakistan to establish medicines regulatory authority at federal and provincial level was urgently requested and the final outcome of the exercise would improve the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of the NMRA in ensuring that the public accesses good quality medicines and health related products.
Dr Khalid Saeed Bukhari, Country Advisor Medicine WHO, said the government of Pakistan requested WHO to provide its technical assistance regarding Capacity and Functioning of Drugs Testing Labs in Lahore, that was why we are here, visiting and assessing the Laboratories for Drugs related Medicines.
Dr Bukhari said WHO mission was to map the role and functioning of medicines Quality Control (QC) laboratory in the local regulatory framework and to understand to which extent their present operations are helping to ensure medicines quality in the country.
"We are also assessing that up to which extent the laboratories are operated according to the principles of WHO recommended standards and are prepared for meeting the WHO-prequalification standards," he added.
The Mission also advised the laboratories how to improve structure and operation to better match the principles of laid down in WHO GPCL (Good practices of pharmaceutical quality control labs) and what should be changed in short, mid and long terms in order to achieve that the medicines QC laboratories have the maximum impact on ensuring the quality of medicines in the country.


Courtesy of: WHO

Countries should counter antimicrobial resistant bacteria: WHO

The World Health Organization has asked the countries to implement infection control measures and counter antimicrobial resistant bacteria.
WHO has identified Antimicrobial Resistance as a growing‚ global public health problem.
The members of the world community have also been asked to reinforce national policy on prudent use of antibiotics‚ reducing the generation of antibiotic resistant bacteria.


Courtesy of: WHO

Health potential tool for peace: WHO

WORLD Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Pakistan Dr Guido Sabatinelli has said that health can serve as an effective tool for peace in the South Asian context.He made these remarks on the sideline of the health session of Indo-Pak economic conference held under the aegis of ‘Aman Ki Asha’ at a hotel here on Monday.

Recounting his experiences in Palestine, Jordan and other countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region like Afghanistan that had been affected with war or civil strife since over three decades in addition to South American countries notably El Salvador and Peru and Pakistan itself, he said the polio campaigns had offered temporary respite to the population in conflict zones.

Referring to the situation in South Asia, Dr Sabatinelli pointed out that in the past, conflicts between the two countries had often led to mortality, disease and suffering. Psychological disturbances were also commonly witnessed in the affected population with symptoms such as depression, anxiety, anger, violent behavior, and suicide, he said. While the United Nations was mandated to improve both peace and health by paying attention to the humanitarian needs of such populations, WHO focused mainly on the health needs, he added.

The WHO representative traced the history of the health for peace efforts to the 1980s in Latin America, based on the belief that health, because of its unique value and universal acceptance, could serve as a bridge for peace, solidarity, and understanding among the peoples.

He said the strategy had often resulted in positive outcome in enhancing routine EPI coverage, polio eradication campaigns, general health promotion activities, and the control of Tuberculosis, Malaria and HIV/AIDS besides jointly addressing other public health issues after establishing a peace-through-health discipline.

Dr Sabatinelli also referred to a resolution of the World Health Assembly that asserted that the role of physicians and other health workers in the maintaining and promotion of peace was the most significant for attainment of health for all. He hoped that the conference by Aman Ki Asha would lead to health gains in both the India and Pakistan countries through cross-border collaboration. Dr Ghulam Nabi Kazi and Ms Gul Afridi also represented WHO in the session.


Courtesy of: WHO

Nutrition reports paint grim picture

The nutrition situation poses a huge challenge for Punjab in particular and Pakistan in general as the country aims to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. This was stated by Punjab Special Assistant to CM on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique while speaking at a one-day orientation workshop on ‘Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance at Punjab’.
The workshop was organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), in collaboration with the Health Department at the Avari Hotel on Thursday.
Rafique said the levels of malnutrition are unacceptably high and will not only represent a challenge in reaching the Millennium Development Goals but will also constrain economic growth.
According to the National Nutrition Survey 2011, 58 percent of households are food insecure in Pakistan while 59.5 percent of these are in Punjab, said WHO Nutrition Technical Officer Dr Khizar Ashraf.
He said more than 29.7 percent of the children under five years of age, are underweight for their age. 43.7 percent of the children are affected by stunting and about 15.1 percent by wasting. 62.1 percent of children and 26.1 percent of pregnant women have anaemia in Pakistan.


Courtesy of: WHO

Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System in seven districts (WHO)

World Health Organization (WHO) Operations Officer Dr. Babar Alam has announced that the WHO with the collaboration of the Punjab government is going to establish ‘Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System’ in seven districts of the province.
He made this announcement while addressing a one-day orientation workshop on ‘Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance in Punjab’ organized by WHO in collaboration with health department at a local hotel on Thursday. He said that Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System would cover district of Multan, Gujranwala, Muzafargarh, DG Khan, Rajanpur, Layah and Bhakar.
Special Assistant to Chief Minister on HWHOealth Khawaja Salman Rafique, Health Director-General Dr. Nisar Ahmad Cheema, Lahore Health Executive District Officer (EDO) Dr Inamul Haq also attended the workshop besides representatives of the WHO.
He said that the proposed Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance would help Punjab government to improve health of the people in general and streamline everything regarding nutrition in particular. Khawaja Salman Rafique said that the main objectives of surveillance system were to assess on a continuous basis the nutritional and related health status of the children at the selected sites, to identify and highlight the evolution and projected trends towards a nutritional and health emergency as related to food crises.


Courtesy of: WHO

Drug testing: WHO mission visits various labs in Lahore

World Health Organisation Mission on Assessing Drug Testing Laboratory (quality control laboratory) Capacity and Functioning has stressed that knowledge and skills of the staff engaged in maintenance of quality management system in the laboratory should be improved.
WHO Mission comprising Michael Ged Lee, Head of MHRA Lab UK; Juhan Ruut, Head of Estonia Lab; and Khalid Saeed Bukhari, Country Advisor Medicine WHO visited Lahore on the request of Federal and Punjab Government to provide technical assistance to assess Drug Testing Laboratory Capacity and its functioning.
The Mission visited various laboratories in the City of Lahore and also met with Secretary Health Punjab Arif Nadeem to resolve the issue by providing technical assistance to the government.

Secretary Health Arif Nadeem said, "The assessment of the existing capacity of a National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) is meant to bring out the existing competencies and identify gaps, which are required to be addressed if NMRA is to be effective in its regulatory functions."
Therefore, he said the assistance of WHO experts in advising the government of Pakistan to establish medicines regulatory authority at federal and provincial level was urgently requested and the final outcome of the exercise would improve the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of the NMRA in ensuring that the public accesses good quality medicines and health related products.
Dr Khalid Saeed Bukhari, Country Advisor Medicine WHO, said the government of Pakistan requested WHO to provide its technical assistance regarding Capacity and Functioning of Drugs Testing Labs in Lahore, that was why we are here, visiting and assessing the Laboratories for Drugs related Medicines.
Dr Bukhari said WHO mission was to map the role and functioning of medicines Quality Control (QC) laboratory in the local regulatory framework and to understand to which extent their present operations are helping to ensure medicines quality in the country.
"We are also assessing that up to which extent the laboratories are operated according to the principles of WHO recommended standards and are prepared for meeting the WHO-prequalification standards," he added.
The Mission also advised the laboratories how to improve structure and operation to better match the principles of laid down in WHO GPCL (Good practices of pharmaceutical quality control labs) and what should be changed in short, mid and long terms in order to achieve that the medicines QC laboratories have the maximum impact on ensuring the quality of medicines in the country.


Courtesy of: WHO

Countries should counter antimicrobial resistant bacteria: WHO

The World Health Organization has asked the countries to implement infection control measures and counter antimicrobial resistant bacteria.
WHO has identified Antimicrobial Resistance as a growing‚ global public health problem.
The members of the world community have also been asked to reinforce national policy on prudent use of antibiotics‚ reducing the generation of antibiotic resistant bacteria.


Courtesy of: WHO

Health potential tool for peace: WHO

WORLD Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Pakistan Dr Guido Sabatinelli has said that health can serve as an effective tool for peace in the South Asian context.He made these remarks on the sideline of the health session of Indo-Pak economic conference held under the aegis of ‘Aman Ki Asha’ at a hotel here on Monday.

Recounting his experiences in Palestine, Jordan and other countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region like Afghanistan that had been affected with war or civil strife since over three decades in addition to South American countries notably El Salvador and Peru and Pakistan itself, he said the polio campaigns had offered temporary respite to the population in conflict zones.

Referring to the situation in South Asia, Dr Sabatinelli pointed out that in the past, conflicts between the two countries had often led to mortality, disease and suffering. Psychological disturbances were also commonly witnessed in the affected population with symptoms such as depression, anxiety, anger, violent behavior, and suicide, he said. While the United Nations was mandated to improve both peace and health by paying attention to the humanitarian needs of such populations, WHO focused mainly on the health needs, he added.

The WHO representative traced the history of the health for peace efforts to the 1980s in Latin America, based on the belief that health, because of its unique value and universal acceptance, could serve as a bridge for peace, solidarity, and understanding among the peoples.

He said the strategy had often resulted in positive outcome in enhancing routine EPI coverage, polio eradication campaigns, general health promotion activities, and the control of Tuberculosis, Malaria and HIV/AIDS besides jointly addressing other public health issues after establishing a peace-through-health discipline.

Dr Sabatinelli also referred to a resolution of the World Health Assembly that asserted that the role of physicians and other health workers in the maintaining and promotion of peace was the most significant for attainment of health for all. He hoped that the conference by Aman Ki Asha would lead to health gains in both the India and Pakistan countries through cross-border collaboration. Dr Ghulam Nabi Kazi and Ms Gul Afridi also represented WHO in the session.


Courtesy of: WHO

Nutrition reports paint grim picture

The nutrition situation poses a huge challenge for Punjab in particular and Pakistan in general as the country aims to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. This was stated by Punjab Special Assistant to CM on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique while speaking at a one-day orientation workshop on ‘Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance at Punjab’.
The workshop was organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), in collaboration with the Health Department at the Avari Hotel on Thursday.
Rafique said the levels of malnutrition are unacceptably high and will not only represent a challenge in reaching the Millennium Development Goals but will also constrain economic growth.
According to the National Nutrition Survey 2011, 58 percent of households are food insecure in Pakistan while 59.5 percent of these are in Punjab, said WHO Nutrition Technical Officer Dr Khizar Ashraf.
He said more than 29.7 percent of the children under five years of age, are underweight for their age. 43.7 percent of the children are affected by stunting and about 15.1 percent by wasting. 62.1 percent of children and 26.1 percent of pregnant women have anaemia in Pakistan.


Courtesy of: WHO

Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System in seven districts (WHO)

World Health Organization (WHO) Operations Officer Dr. Babar Alam has announced that the WHO with the collaboration of the Punjab government is going to establish ‘Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System’ in seven districts of the province.
He made this announcement while addressing a one-day orientation workshop on ‘Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance in Punjab’ organized by WHO in collaboration with health department at a local hotel on Thursday. He said that Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System would cover district of Multan, Gujranwala, Muzafargarh, DG Khan, Rajanpur, Layah and Bhakar.
Special Assistant to Chief Minister on HWHOealth Khawaja Salman Rafique, Health Director-General Dr. Nisar Ahmad Cheema, Lahore Health Executive District Officer (EDO) Dr Inamul Haq also attended the workshop besides representatives of the WHO.
He said that the proposed Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance would help Punjab government to improve health of the people in general and streamline everything regarding nutrition in particular. Khawaja Salman Rafique said that the main objectives of surveillance system were to assess on a continuous basis the nutritional and related health status of the children at the selected sites, to identify and highlight the evolution and projected trends towards a nutritional and health emergency as related to food crises.


Courtesy of: WHO

Drug testing: WHO mission visits various labs in Lahore

World Health Organisation Mission on Assessing Drug Testing Laboratory (quality control laboratory) Capacity and Functioning has stressed that knowledge and skills of the staff engaged in maintenance of quality management system in the laboratory should be improved.
WHO Mission comprising Michael Ged Lee, Head of MHRA Lab UK; Juhan Ruut, Head of Estonia Lab; and Khalid Saeed Bukhari, Country Advisor Medicine WHO visited Lahore on the request of Federal and Punjab Government to provide technical assistance to assess Drug Testing Laboratory Capacity and its functioning.
The Mission visited various laboratories in the City of Lahore and also met with Secretary Health Punjab Arif Nadeem to resolve the issue by providing technical assistance to the government.

Secretary Health Arif Nadeem said, "The assessment of the existing capacity of a National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) is meant to bring out the existing competencies and identify gaps, which are required to be addressed if NMRA is to be effective in its regulatory functions."
Therefore, he said the assistance of WHO experts in advising the government of Pakistan to establish medicines regulatory authority at federal and provincial level was urgently requested and the final outcome of the exercise would improve the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of the NMRA in ensuring that the public accesses good quality medicines and health related products.
Dr Khalid Saeed Bukhari, Country Advisor Medicine WHO, said the government of Pakistan requested WHO to provide its technical assistance regarding Capacity and Functioning of Drugs Testing Labs in Lahore, that was why we are here, visiting and assessing the Laboratories for Drugs related Medicines.
Dr Bukhari said WHO mission was to map the role and functioning of medicines Quality Control (QC) laboratory in the local regulatory framework and to understand to which extent their present operations are helping to ensure medicines quality in the country.
"We are also assessing that up to which extent the laboratories are operated according to the principles of WHO recommended standards and are prepared for meeting the WHO-prequalification standards," he added.
The Mission also advised the laboratories how to improve structure and operation to better match the principles of laid down in WHO GPCL (Good practices of pharmaceutical quality control labs) and what should be changed in short, mid and long terms in order to achieve that the medicines QC laboratories have the maximum impact on ensuring the quality of medicines in the country.


Courtesy of: WHO

Countries should counter antimicrobial resistant bacteria: WHO

The World Health Organization has asked the countries to implement infection control measures and counter antimicrobial resistant bacteria.
WHO has identified Antimicrobial Resistance as a growing‚ global public health problem.
The members of the world community have also been asked to reinforce national policy on prudent use of antibiotics‚ reducing the generation of antibiotic resistant bacteria.


Courtesy of: WHO

Health potential tool for peace: WHO

WORLD Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Pakistan Dr Guido Sabatinelli has said that health can serve as an effective tool for peace in the South Asian context.He made these remarks on the sideline of the health session of Indo-Pak economic conference held under the aegis of ‘Aman Ki Asha’ at a hotel here on Monday.

Recounting his experiences in Palestine, Jordan and other countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region like Afghanistan that had been affected with war or civil strife since over three decades in addition to South American countries notably El Salvador and Peru and Pakistan itself, he said the polio campaigns had offered temporary respite to the population in conflict zones.

Referring to the situation in South Asia, Dr Sabatinelli pointed out that in the past, conflicts between the two countries had often led to mortality, disease and suffering. Psychological disturbances were also commonly witnessed in the affected population with symptoms such as depression, anxiety, anger, violent behavior, and suicide, he said. While the United Nations was mandated to improve both peace and health by paying attention to the humanitarian needs of such populations, WHO focused mainly on the health needs, he added.

The WHO representative traced the history of the health for peace efforts to the 1980s in Latin America, based on the belief that health, because of its unique value and universal acceptance, could serve as a bridge for peace, solidarity, and understanding among the peoples.

He said the strategy had often resulted in positive outcome in enhancing routine EPI coverage, polio eradication campaigns, general health promotion activities, and the control of Tuberculosis, Malaria and HIV/AIDS besides jointly addressing other public health issues after establishing a peace-through-health discipline.

Dr Sabatinelli also referred to a resolution of the World Health Assembly that asserted that the role of physicians and other health workers in the maintaining and promotion of peace was the most significant for attainment of health for all. He hoped that the conference by Aman Ki Asha would lead to health gains in both the India and Pakistan countries through cross-border collaboration. Dr Ghulam Nabi Kazi and Ms Gul Afridi also represented WHO in the session.


Courtesy of: WHO

Nutrition reports paint grim picture

The nutrition situation poses a huge challenge for Punjab in particular and Pakistan in general as the country aims to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. This was stated by Punjab Special Assistant to CM on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique while speaking at a one-day orientation workshop on ‘Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance at Punjab’.
The workshop was organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), in collaboration with the Health Department at the Avari Hotel on Thursday.
Rafique said the levels of malnutrition are unacceptably high and will not only represent a challenge in reaching the Millennium Development Goals but will also constrain economic growth.
According to the National Nutrition Survey 2011, 58 percent of households are food insecure in Pakistan while 59.5 percent of these are in Punjab, said WHO Nutrition Technical Officer Dr Khizar Ashraf.
He said more than 29.7 percent of the children under five years of age, are underweight for their age. 43.7 percent of the children are affected by stunting and about 15.1 percent by wasting. 62.1 percent of children and 26.1 percent of pregnant women have anaemia in Pakistan.


Courtesy of: WHO

Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System in seven districts (WHO)

World Health Organization (WHO) Operations Officer Dr. Babar Alam has announced that the WHO with the collaboration of the Punjab government is going to establish ‘Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System’ in seven districts of the province.
He made this announcement while addressing a one-day orientation workshop on ‘Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance in Punjab’ organized by WHO in collaboration with health department at a local hotel on Thursday. He said that Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System would cover district of Multan, Gujranwala, Muzafargarh, DG Khan, Rajanpur, Layah and Bhakar.
Special Assistant to Chief Minister on HWHOealth Khawaja Salman Rafique, Health Director-General Dr. Nisar Ahmad Cheema, Lahore Health Executive District Officer (EDO) Dr Inamul Haq also attended the workshop besides representatives of the WHO.
He said that the proposed Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance would help Punjab government to improve health of the people in general and streamline everything regarding nutrition in particular. Khawaja Salman Rafique said that the main objectives of surveillance system were to assess on a continuous basis the nutritional and related health status of the children at the selected sites, to identify and highlight the evolution and projected trends towards a nutritional and health emergency as related to food crises.


Courtesy of: WHO

Drug testing: WHO mission visits various labs in Lahore

World Health Organisation Mission on Assessing Drug Testing Laboratory (quality control laboratory) Capacity and Functioning has stressed that knowledge and skills of the staff engaged in maintenance of quality management system in the laboratory should be improved.
WHO Mission comprising Michael Ged Lee, Head of MHRA Lab UK; Juhan Ruut, Head of Estonia Lab; and Khalid Saeed Bukhari, Country Advisor Medicine WHO visited Lahore on the request of Federal and Punjab Government to provide technical assistance to assess Drug Testing Laboratory Capacity and its functioning.
The Mission visited various laboratories in the City of Lahore and also met with Secretary Health Punjab Arif Nadeem to resolve the issue by providing technical assistance to the government.

Secretary Health Arif Nadeem said, "The assessment of the existing capacity of a National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) is meant to bring out the existing competencies and identify gaps, which are required to be addressed if NMRA is to be effective in its regulatory functions."
Therefore, he said the assistance of WHO experts in advising the government of Pakistan to establish medicines regulatory authority at federal and provincial level was urgently requested and the final outcome of the exercise would improve the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of the NMRA in ensuring that the public accesses good quality medicines and health related products.
Dr Khalid Saeed Bukhari, Country Advisor Medicine WHO, said the government of Pakistan requested WHO to provide its technical assistance regarding Capacity and Functioning of Drugs Testing Labs in Lahore, that was why we are here, visiting and assessing the Laboratories for Drugs related Medicines.
Dr Bukhari said WHO mission was to map the role and functioning of medicines Quality Control (QC) laboratory in the local regulatory framework and to understand to which extent their present operations are helping to ensure medicines quality in the country.
"We are also assessing that up to which extent the laboratories are operated according to the principles of WHO recommended standards and are prepared for meeting the WHO-prequalification standards," he added.
The Mission also advised the laboratories how to improve structure and operation to better match the principles of laid down in WHO GPCL (Good practices of pharmaceutical quality control labs) and what should be changed in short, mid and long terms in order to achieve that the medicines QC laboratories have the maximum impact on ensuring the quality of medicines in the country.


Courtesy of: WHO

Countries should counter antimicrobial resistant bacteria: WHO

The World Health Organization has asked the countries to implement infection control measures and counter antimicrobial resistant bacteria.
WHO has identified Antimicrobial Resistance as a growing‚ global public health problem.
The members of the world community have also been asked to reinforce national policy on prudent use of antibiotics‚ reducing the generation of antibiotic resistant bacteria.


Courtesy of: WHO

Health potential tool for peace: WHO

WORLD Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Pakistan Dr Guido Sabatinelli has said that health can serve as an effective tool for peace in the South Asian context.He made these remarks on the sideline of the health session of Indo-Pak economic conference held under the aegis of ‘Aman Ki Asha’ at a hotel here on Monday.

Recounting his experiences in Palestine, Jordan and other countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region like Afghanistan that had been affected with war or civil strife since over three decades in addition to South American countries notably El Salvador and Peru and Pakistan itself, he said the polio campaigns had offered temporary respite to the population in conflict zones.

Referring to the situation in South Asia, Dr Sabatinelli pointed out that in the past, conflicts between the two countries had often led to mortality, disease and suffering. Psychological disturbances were also commonly witnessed in the affected population with symptoms such as depression, anxiety, anger, violent behavior, and suicide, he said. While the United Nations was mandated to improve both peace and health by paying attention to the humanitarian needs of such populations, WHO focused mainly on the health needs, he added.

The WHO representative traced the history of the health for peace efforts to the 1980s in Latin America, based on the belief that health, because of its unique value and universal acceptance, could serve as a bridge for peace, solidarity, and understanding among the peoples.

He said the strategy had often resulted in positive outcome in enhancing routine EPI coverage, polio eradication campaigns, general health promotion activities, and the control of Tuberculosis, Malaria and HIV/AIDS besides jointly addressing other public health issues after establishing a peace-through-health discipline.

Dr Sabatinelli also referred to a resolution of the World Health Assembly that asserted that the role of physicians and other health workers in the maintaining and promotion of peace was the most significant for attainment of health for all. He hoped that the conference by Aman Ki Asha would lead to health gains in both the India and Pakistan countries through cross-border collaboration. Dr Ghulam Nabi Kazi and Ms Gul Afridi also represented WHO in the session.


Courtesy of: WHO

Nutrition reports paint grim picture

The nutrition situation poses a huge challenge for Punjab in particular and Pakistan in general as the country aims to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. This was stated by Punjab Special Assistant to CM on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique while speaking at a one-day orientation workshop on ‘Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance at Punjab’.
The workshop was organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), in collaboration with the Health Department at the Avari Hotel on Thursday.
Rafique said the levels of malnutrition are unacceptably high and will not only represent a challenge in reaching the Millennium Development Goals but will also constrain economic growth.
According to the National Nutrition Survey 2011, 58 percent of households are food insecure in Pakistan while 59.5 percent of these are in Punjab, said WHO Nutrition Technical Officer Dr Khizar Ashraf.
He said more than 29.7 percent of the children under five years of age, are underweight for their age. 43.7 percent of the children are affected by stunting and about 15.1 percent by wasting. 62.1 percent of children and 26.1 percent of pregnant women have anaemia in Pakistan.


Courtesy of: WHO

Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System in seven districts (WHO)

World Health Organization (WHO) Operations Officer Dr. Babar Alam has announced that the WHO with the collaboration of the Punjab government is going to establish ‘Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System’ in seven districts of the province.
He made this announcement while addressing a one-day orientation workshop on ‘Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance in Punjab’ organized by WHO in collaboration with health department at a local hotel on Thursday. He said that Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System would cover district of Multan, Gujranwala, Muzafargarh, DG Khan, Rajanpur, Layah and Bhakar.
Special Assistant to Chief Minister on HWHOealth Khawaja Salman Rafique, Health Director-General Dr. Nisar Ahmad Cheema, Lahore Health Executive District Officer (EDO) Dr Inamul Haq also attended the workshop besides representatives of the WHO.
He said that the proposed Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance would help Punjab government to improve health of the people in general and streamline everything regarding nutrition in particular. Khawaja Salman Rafique said that the main objectives of surveillance system were to assess on a continuous basis the nutritional and related health status of the children at the selected sites, to identify and highlight the evolution and projected trends towards a nutritional and health emergency as related to food crises.


Courtesy of: WHO

Drug testing: WHO mission visits various labs in Lahore

World Health Organisation Mission on Assessing Drug Testing Laboratory (quality control laboratory) Capacity and Functioning has stressed that knowledge and skills of the staff engaged in maintenance of quality management system in the laboratory should be improved.
WHO Mission comprising Michael Ged Lee, Head of MHRA Lab UK; Juhan Ruut, Head of Estonia Lab; and Khalid Saeed Bukhari, Country Advisor Medicine WHO visited Lahore on the request of Federal and Punjab Government to provide technical assistance to assess Drug Testing Laboratory Capacity and its functioning.
The Mission visited various laboratories in the City of Lahore and also met with Secretary Health Punjab Arif Nadeem to resolve the issue by providing technical assistance to the government.

Secretary Health Arif Nadeem said, "The assessment of the existing capacity of a National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) is meant to bring out the existing competencies and identify gaps, which are required to be addressed if NMRA is to be effective in its regulatory functions."
Therefore, he said the assistance of WHO experts in advising the government of Pakistan to establish medicines regulatory authority at federal and provincial level was urgently requested and the final outcome of the exercise would improve the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of the NMRA in ensuring that the public accesses good quality medicines and health related products.
Dr Khalid Saeed Bukhari, Country Advisor Medicine WHO, said the government of Pakistan requested WHO to provide its technical assistance regarding Capacity and Functioning of Drugs Testing Labs in Lahore, that was why we are here, visiting and assessing the Laboratories for Drugs related Medicines.
Dr Bukhari said WHO mission was to map the role and functioning of medicines Quality Control (QC) laboratory in the local regulatory framework and to understand to which extent their present operations are helping to ensure medicines quality in the country.
"We are also assessing that up to which extent the laboratories are operated according to the principles of WHO recommended standards and are prepared for meeting the WHO-prequalification standards," he added.
The Mission also advised the laboratories how to improve structure and operation to better match the principles of laid down in WHO GPCL (Good practices of pharmaceutical quality control labs) and what should be changed in short, mid and long terms in order to achieve that the medicines QC laboratories have the maximum impact on ensuring the quality of medicines in the country.


Courtesy of: WHO

Countries should counter antimicrobial resistant bacteria: WHO

The World Health Organization has asked the countries to implement infection control measures and counter antimicrobial resistant bacteria.
WHO has identified Antimicrobial Resistance as a growing‚ global public health problem.
The members of the world community have also been asked to reinforce national policy on prudent use of antibiotics‚ reducing the generation of antibiotic resistant bacteria.


Courtesy of: WHO

Health potential tool for peace: WHO

WORLD Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Pakistan Dr Guido Sabatinelli has said that health can serve as an effective tool for peace in the South Asian context.He made these remarks on the sideline of the health session of Indo-Pak economic conference held under the aegis of ‘Aman Ki Asha’ at a hotel here on Monday.

Recounting his experiences in Palestine, Jordan and other countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region like Afghanistan that had been affected with war or civil strife since over three decades in addition to South American countries notably El Salvador and Peru and Pakistan itself, he said the polio campaigns had offered temporary respite to the population in conflict zones.

Referring to the situation in South Asia, Dr Sabatinelli pointed out that in the past, conflicts between the two countries had often led to mortality, disease and suffering. Psychological disturbances were also commonly witnessed in the affected population with symptoms such as depression, anxiety, anger, violent behavior, and suicide, he said. While the United Nations was mandated to improve both peace and health by paying attention to the humanitarian needs of such populations, WHO focused mainly on the health needs, he added.

The WHO representative traced the history of the health for peace efforts to the 1980s in Latin America, based on the belief that health, because of its unique value and universal acceptance, could serve as a bridge for peace, solidarity, and understanding among the peoples.

He said the strategy had often resulted in positive outcome in enhancing routine EPI coverage, polio eradication campaigns, general health promotion activities, and the control of Tuberculosis, Malaria and HIV/AIDS besides jointly addressing other public health issues after establishing a peace-through-health discipline.

Dr Sabatinelli also referred to a resolution of the World Health Assembly that asserted that the role of physicians and other health workers in the maintaining and promotion of peace was the most significant for attainment of health for all. He hoped that the conference by Aman Ki Asha would lead to health gains in both the India and Pakistan countries through cross-border collaboration. Dr Ghulam Nabi Kazi and Ms Gul Afridi also represented WHO in the session.


Courtesy of: WHO

Nutrition reports paint grim picture

The nutrition situation poses a huge challenge for Punjab in particular and Pakistan in general as the country aims to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. This was stated by Punjab Special Assistant to CM on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique while speaking at a one-day orientation workshop on ‘Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance at Punjab’.
The workshop was organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), in collaboration with the Health Department at the Avari Hotel on Thursday.
Rafique said the levels of malnutrition are unacceptably high and will not only represent a challenge in reaching the Millennium Development Goals but will also constrain economic growth.
According to the National Nutrition Survey 2011, 58 percent of households are food insecure in Pakistan while 59.5 percent of these are in Punjab, said WHO Nutrition Technical Officer Dr Khizar Ashraf.
He said more than 29.7 percent of the children under five years of age, are underweight for their age. 43.7 percent of the children are affected by stunting and about 15.1 percent by wasting. 62.1 percent of children and 26.1 percent of pregnant women have anaemia in Pakistan.


Courtesy of: WHO

Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System in seven districts (WHO)

World Health Organization (WHO) Operations Officer Dr. Babar Alam has announced that the WHO with the collaboration of the Punjab government is going to establish ‘Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System’ in seven districts of the province.
He made this announcement while addressing a one-day orientation workshop on ‘Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance in Punjab’ organized by WHO in collaboration with health department at a local hotel on Thursday. He said that Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System would cover district of Multan, Gujranwala, Muzafargarh, DG Khan, Rajanpur, Layah and Bhakar.
Special Assistant to Chief Minister on HWHOealth Khawaja Salman Rafique, Health Director-General Dr. Nisar Ahmad Cheema, Lahore Health Executive District Officer (EDO) Dr Inamul Haq also attended the workshop besides representatives of the WHO.
He said that the proposed Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance would help Punjab government to improve health of the people in general and streamline everything regarding nutrition in particular. Khawaja Salman Rafique said that the main objectives of surveillance system were to assess on a continuous basis the nutritional and related health status of the children at the selected sites, to identify and highlight the evolution and projected trends towards a nutritional and health emergency as related to food crises.


Courtesy of: WHO

Drug testing: WHO mission visits various labs in Lahore

World Health Organisation Mission on Assessing Drug Testing Laboratory (quality control laboratory) Capacity and Functioning has stressed that knowledge and skills of the staff engaged in maintenance of quality management system in the laboratory should be improved.
WHO Mission comprising Michael Ged Lee, Head of MHRA Lab UK; Juhan Ruut, Head of Estonia Lab; and Khalid Saeed Bukhari, Country Advisor Medicine WHO visited Lahore on the request of Federal and Punjab Government to provide technical assistance to assess Drug Testing Laboratory Capacity and its functioning.
The Mission visited various laboratories in the City of Lahore and also met with Secretary Health Punjab Arif Nadeem to resolve the issue by providing technical assistance to the government.

Secretary Health Arif Nadeem said, "The assessment of the existing capacity of a National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) is meant to bring out the existing competencies and identify gaps, which are required to be addressed if NMRA is to be effective in its regulatory functions."
Therefore, he said the assistance of WHO experts in advising the government of Pakistan to establish medicines regulatory authority at federal and provincial level was urgently requested and the final outcome of the exercise would improve the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of the NMRA in ensuring that the public accesses good quality medicines and health related products.
Dr Khalid Saeed Bukhari, Country Advisor Medicine WHO, said the government of Pakistan requested WHO to provide its technical assistance regarding Capacity and Functioning of Drugs Testing Labs in Lahore, that was why we are here, visiting and assessing the Laboratories for Drugs related Medicines.
Dr Bukhari said WHO mission was to map the role and functioning of medicines Quality Control (QC) laboratory in the local regulatory framework and to understand to which extent their present operations are helping to ensure medicines quality in the country.
"We are also assessing that up to which extent the laboratories are operated according to the principles of WHO recommended standards and are prepared for meeting the WHO-prequalification standards," he added.
The Mission also advised the laboratories how to improve structure and operation to better match the principles of laid down in WHO GPCL (Good practices of pharmaceutical quality control labs) and what should be changed in short, mid and long terms in order to achieve that the medicines QC laboratories have the maximum impact on ensuring the quality of medicines in the country.


Courtesy of: WHO

Countries should counter antimicrobial resistant bacteria: WHO

The World Health Organization has asked the countries to implement infection control measures and counter antimicrobial resistant bacteria.
WHO has identified Antimicrobial Resistance as a growing‚ global public health problem.
The members of the world community have also been asked to reinforce national policy on prudent use of antibiotics‚ reducing the generation of antibiotic resistant bacteria.


Courtesy of: WHO

Health potential tool for peace: WHO

WORLD Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Pakistan Dr Guido Sabatinelli has said that health can serve as an effective tool for peace in the South Asian context.He made these remarks on the sideline of the health session of Indo-Pak economic conference held under the aegis of ‘Aman Ki Asha’ at a hotel here on Monday.

Recounting his experiences in Palestine, Jordan and other countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region like Afghanistan that had been affected with war or civil strife since over three decades in addition to South American countries notably El Salvador and Peru and Pakistan itself, he said the polio campaigns had offered temporary respite to the population in conflict zones.

Referring to the situation in South Asia, Dr Sabatinelli pointed out that in the past, conflicts between the two countries had often led to mortality, disease and suffering. Psychological disturbances were also commonly witnessed in the affected population with symptoms such as depression, anxiety, anger, violent behavior, and suicide, he said. While the United Nations was mandated to improve both peace and health by paying attention to the humanitarian needs of such populations, WHO focused mainly on the health needs, he added.

The WHO representative traced the history of the health for peace efforts to the 1980s in Latin America, based on the belief that health, because of its unique value and universal acceptance, could serve as a bridge for peace, solidarity, and understanding among the peoples.

He said the strategy had often resulted in positive outcome in enhancing routine EPI coverage, polio eradication campaigns, general health promotion activities, and the control of Tuberculosis, Malaria and HIV/AIDS besides jointly addressing other public health issues after establishing a peace-through-health discipline.

Dr Sabatinelli also referred to a resolution of the World Health Assembly that asserted that the role of physicians and other health workers in the maintaining and promotion of peace was the most significant for attainment of health for all. He hoped that the conference by Aman Ki Asha would lead to health gains in both the India and Pakistan countries through cross-border collaboration. Dr Ghulam Nabi Kazi and Ms Gul Afridi also represented WHO in the session.


Courtesy of: WHO

Nutrition reports paint grim picture

The nutrition situation poses a huge challenge for Punjab in particular and Pakistan in general as the country aims to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. This was stated by Punjab Special Assistant to CM on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique while speaking at a one-day orientation workshop on ‘Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance at Punjab’.
The workshop was organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), in collaboration with the Health Department at the Avari Hotel on Thursday.
Rafique said the levels of malnutrition are unacceptably high and will not only represent a challenge in reaching the Millennium Development Goals but will also constrain economic growth.
According to the National Nutrition Survey 2011, 58 percent of households are food insecure in Pakistan while 59.5 percent of these are in Punjab, said WHO Nutrition Technical Officer Dr Khizar Ashraf.
He said more than 29.7 percent of the children under five years of age, are underweight for their age. 43.7 percent of the children are affected by stunting and about 15.1 percent by wasting. 62.1 percent of children and 26.1 percent of pregnant women have anaemia in Pakistan.


Courtesy of: WHO

Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System in seven districts (WHO)

World Health Organization (WHO) Operations Officer Dr. Babar Alam has announced that the WHO with the collaboration of the Punjab government is going to establish ‘Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System’ in seven districts of the province.
He made this announcement while addressing a one-day orientation workshop on ‘Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance in Punjab’ organized by WHO in collaboration with health department at a local hotel on Thursday. He said that Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System would cover district of Multan, Gujranwala, Muzafargarh, DG Khan, Rajanpur, Layah and Bhakar.
Special Assistant to Chief Minister on HWHOealth Khawaja Salman Rafique, Health Director-General Dr. Nisar Ahmad Cheema, Lahore Health Executive District Officer (EDO) Dr Inamul Haq also attended the workshop besides representatives of the WHO.
He said that the proposed Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance would help Punjab government to improve health of the people in general and streamline everything regarding nutrition in particular. Khawaja Salman Rafique said that the main objectives of surveillance system were to assess on a continuous basis the nutritional and related health status of the children at the selected sites, to identify and highlight the evolution and projected trends towards a nutritional and health emergency as related to food crises.


Courtesy of: WHO

Drug testing: WHO mission visits various labs in Lahore

World Health Organisation Mission on Assessing Drug Testing Laboratory (quality control laboratory) Capacity and Functioning has stressed that knowledge and skills of the staff engaged in maintenance of quality management system in the laboratory should be improved.
WHO Mission comprising Michael Ged Lee, Head of MHRA Lab UK; Juhan Ruut, Head of Estonia Lab; and Khalid Saeed Bukhari, Country Advisor Medicine WHO visited Lahore on the request of Federal and Punjab Government to provide technical assistance to assess Drug Testing Laboratory Capacity and its functioning.
The Mission visited various laboratories in the City of Lahore and also met with Secretary Health Punjab Arif Nadeem to resolve the issue by providing technical assistance to the government.

Secretary Health Arif Nadeem said, "The assessment of the existing capacity of a National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) is meant to bring out the existing competencies and identify gaps, which are required to be addressed if NMRA is to be effective in its regulatory functions."
Therefore, he said the assistance of WHO experts in advising the government of Pakistan to establish medicines regulatory authority at federal and provincial level was urgently requested and the final outcome of the exercise would improve the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of the NMRA in ensuring that the public accesses good quality medicines and health related products.
Dr Khalid Saeed Bukhari, Country Advisor Medicine WHO, said the government of Pakistan requested WHO to provide its technical assistance regarding Capacity and Functioning of Drugs Testing Labs in Lahore, that was why we are here, visiting and assessing the Laboratories for Drugs related Medicines.
Dr Bukhari said WHO mission was to map the role and functioning of medicines Quality Control (QC) laboratory in the local regulatory framework and to understand to which extent their present operations are helping to ensure medicines quality in the country.
"We are also assessing that up to which extent the laboratories are operated according to the principles of WHO recommended standards and are prepared for meeting the WHO-prequalification standards," he added.
The Mission also advised the laboratories how to improve structure and operation to better match the principles of laid down in WHO GPCL (Good practices of pharmaceutical quality control labs) and what should be changed in short, mid and long terms in order to achieve that the medicines QC laboratories have the maximum impact on ensuring the quality of medicines in the country.


Courtesy of: WHO

Countries should counter antimicrobial resistant bacteria: WHO

The World Health Organization has asked the countries to implement infection control measures and counter antimicrobial resistant bacteria.
WHO has identified Antimicrobial Resistance as a growing‚ global public health problem.
The members of the world community have also been asked to reinforce national policy on prudent use of antibiotics‚ reducing the generation of antibiotic resistant bacteria.


Courtesy of: WHO

Health potential tool for peace: WHO

WORLD Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Pakistan Dr Guido Sabatinelli has said that health can serve as an effective tool for peace in the South Asian context.He made these remarks on the sideline of the health session of Indo-Pak economic conference held under the aegis of ‘Aman Ki Asha’ at a hotel here on Monday.

Recounting his experiences in Palestine, Jordan and other countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region like Afghanistan that had been affected with war or civil strife since over three decades in addition to South American countries notably El Salvador and Peru and Pakistan itself, he said the polio campaigns had offered temporary respite to the population in conflict zones.

Referring to the situation in South Asia, Dr Sabatinelli pointed out that in the past, conflicts between the two countries had often led to mortality, disease and suffering. Psychological disturbances were also commonly witnessed in the affected population with symptoms such as depression, anxiety, anger, violent behavior, and suicide, he said. While the United Nations was mandated to improve both peace and health by paying attention to the humanitarian needs of such populations, WHO focused mainly on the health needs, he added.

The WHO representative traced the history of the health for peace efforts to the 1980s in Latin America, based on the belief that health, because of its unique value and universal acceptance, could serve as a bridge for peace, solidarity, and understanding among the peoples.

He said the strategy had often resulted in positive outcome in enhancing routine EPI coverage, polio eradication campaigns, general health promotion activities, and the control of Tuberculosis, Malaria and HIV/AIDS besides jointly addressing other public health issues after establishing a peace-through-health discipline.

Dr Sabatinelli also referred to a resolution of the World Health Assembly that asserted that the role of physicians and other health workers in the maintaining and promotion of peace was the most significant for attainment of health for all. He hoped that the conference by Aman Ki Asha would lead to health gains in both the India and Pakistan countries through cross-border collaboration. Dr Ghulam Nabi Kazi and Ms Gul Afridi also represented WHO in the session.


Courtesy of: WHO

Nutrition reports paint grim picture

The nutrition situation poses a huge challenge for Punjab in particular and Pakistan in general as the country aims to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. This was stated by Punjab Special Assistant to CM on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique while speaking at a one-day orientation workshop on ‘Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance at Punjab’.
The workshop was organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), in collaboration with the Health Department at the Avari Hotel on Thursday.
Rafique said the levels of malnutrition are unacceptably high and will not only represent a challenge in reaching the Millennium Development Goals but will also constrain economic growth.
According to the National Nutrition Survey 2011, 58 percent of households are food insecure in Pakistan while 59.5 percent of these are in Punjab, said WHO Nutrition Technical Officer Dr Khizar Ashraf.
He said more than 29.7 percent of the children under five years of age, are underweight for their age. 43.7 percent of the children are affected by stunting and about 15.1 percent by wasting. 62.1 percent of children and 26.1 percent of pregnant women have anaemia in Pakistan.


Courtesy of: WHO

Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System in seven districts (WHO)

World Health Organization (WHO) Operations Officer Dr. Babar Alam has announced that the WHO with the collaboration of the Punjab government is going to establish ‘Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System’ in seven districts of the province.
He made this announcement while addressing a one-day orientation workshop on ‘Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance in Punjab’ organized by WHO in collaboration with health department at a local hotel on Thursday. He said that Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System would cover district of Multan, Gujranwala, Muzafargarh, DG Khan, Rajanpur, Layah and Bhakar.
Special Assistant to Chief Minister on HWHOealth Khawaja Salman Rafique, Health Director-General Dr. Nisar Ahmad Cheema, Lahore Health Executive District Officer (EDO) Dr Inamul Haq also attended the workshop besides representatives of the WHO.
He said that the proposed Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance would help Punjab government to improve health of the people in general and streamline everything regarding nutrition in particular. Khawaja Salman Rafique said that the main objectives of surveillance system were to assess on a continuous basis the nutritional and related health status of the children at the selected sites, to identify and highlight the evolution and projected trends towards a nutritional and health emergency as related to food crises.


Courtesy of: WHO

Drug testing: WHO mission visits various labs in Lahore

World Health Organisation Mission on Assessing Drug Testing Laboratory (quality control laboratory) Capacity and Functioning has stressed that knowledge and skills of the staff engaged in maintenance of quality management system in the laboratory should be improved.
WHO Mission comprising Michael Ged Lee, Head of MHRA Lab UK; Juhan Ruut, Head of Estonia Lab; and Khalid Saeed Bukhari, Country Advisor Medicine WHO visited Lahore on the request of Federal and Punjab Government to provide technical assistance to assess Drug Testing Laboratory Capacity and its functioning.
The Mission visited various laboratories in the City of Lahore and also met with Secretary Health Punjab Arif Nadeem to resolve the issue by providing technical assistance to the government.

Secretary Health Arif Nadeem said, "The assessment of the existing capacity of a National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) is meant to bring out the existing competencies and identify gaps, which are required to be addressed if NMRA is to be effective in its regulatory functions."
Therefore, he said the assistance of WHO experts in advising the government of Pakistan to establish medicines regulatory authority at federal and provincial level was urgently requested and the final outcome of the exercise would improve the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of the NMRA in ensuring that the public accesses good quality medicines and health related products.
Dr Khalid Saeed Bukhari, Country Advisor Medicine WHO, said the government of Pakistan requested WHO to provide its technical assistance regarding Capacity and Functioning of Drugs Testing Labs in Lahore, that was why we are here, visiting and assessing the Laboratories for Drugs related Medicines.
Dr Bukhari said WHO mission was to map the role and functioning of medicines Quality Control (QC) laboratory in the local regulatory framework and to understand to which extent their present operations are helping to ensure medicines quality in the country.
"We are also assessing that up to which extent the laboratories are operated according to the principles of WHO recommended standards and are prepared for meeting the WHO-prequalification standards," he added.
The Mission also advised the laboratories how to improve structure and operation to better match the principles of laid down in WHO GPCL (Good practices of pharmaceutical quality control labs) and what should be changed in short, mid and long terms in order to achieve that the medicines QC laboratories have the maximum impact on ensuring the quality of medicines in the country.


Courtesy of: WHO

Countries should counter antimicrobial resistant bacteria: WHO

The World Health Organization has asked the countries to implement infection control measures and counter antimicrobial resistant bacteria.
WHO has identified Antimicrobial Resistance as a growing‚ global public health problem.
The members of the world community have also been asked to reinforce national policy on prudent use of antibiotics‚ reducing the generation of antibiotic resistant bacteria.


Courtesy of: WHO

Health potential tool for peace: WHO

WORLD Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Pakistan Dr Guido Sabatinelli has said that health can serve as an effective tool for peace in the South Asian context.He made these remarks on the sideline of the health session of Indo-Pak economic conference held under the aegis of ‘Aman Ki Asha’ at a hotel here on Monday.

Recounting his experiences in Palestine, Jordan and other countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region like Afghanistan that had been affected with war or civil strife since over three decades in addition to South American countries notably El Salvador and Peru and Pakistan itself, he said the polio campaigns had offered temporary respite to the population in conflict zones.

Referring to the situation in South Asia, Dr Sabatinelli pointed out that in the past, conflicts between the two countries had often led to mortality, disease and suffering. Psychological disturbances were also commonly witnessed in the affected population with symptoms such as depression, anxiety, anger, violent behavior, and suicide, he said. While the United Nations was mandated to improve both peace and health by paying attention to the humanitarian needs of such populations, WHO focused mainly on the health needs, he added.

The WHO representative traced the history of the health for peace efforts to the 1980s in Latin America, based on the belief that health, because of its unique value and universal acceptance, could serve as a bridge for peace, solidarity, and understanding among the peoples.

He said the strategy had often resulted in positive outcome in enhancing routine EPI coverage, polio eradication campaigns, general health promotion activities, and the control of Tuberculosis, Malaria and HIV/AIDS besides jointly addressing other public health issues after establishing a peace-through-health discipline.

Dr Sabatinelli also referred to a resolution of the World Health Assembly that asserted that the role of physicians and other health workers in the maintaining and promotion of peace was the most significant for attainment of health for all. He hoped that the conference by Aman Ki Asha would lead to health gains in both the India and Pakistan countries through cross-border collaboration. Dr Ghulam Nabi Kazi and Ms Gul Afridi also represented WHO in the session.


Courtesy of: WHO

Nutrition reports paint grim picture

The nutrition situation poses a huge challenge for Punjab in particular and Pakistan in general as the country aims to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. This was stated by Punjab Special Assistant to CM on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique while speaking at a one-day orientation workshop on ‘Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance at Punjab’.
The workshop was organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), in collaboration with the Health Department at the Avari Hotel on Thursday.
Rafique said the levels of malnutrition are unacceptably high and will not only represent a challenge in reaching the Millennium Development Goals but will also constrain economic growth.
According to the National Nutrition Survey 2011, 58 percent of households are food insecure in Pakistan while 59.5 percent of these are in Punjab, said WHO Nutrition Technical Officer Dr Khizar Ashraf.
He said more than 29.7 percent of the children under five years of age, are underweight for their age. 43.7 percent of the children are affected by stunting and about 15.1 percent by wasting. 62.1 percent of children and 26.1 percent of pregnant women have anaemia in Pakistan.


Courtesy of: WHO

Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System in seven districts (WHO)

World Health Organization (WHO) Operations Officer Dr. Babar Alam has announced that the WHO with the collaboration of the Punjab government is going to establish ‘Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System’ in seven districts of the province.
He made this announcement while addressing a one-day orientation workshop on ‘Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance in Punjab’ organized by WHO in collaboration with health department at a local hotel on Thursday. He said that Nutritional Sentinel Site Surveillance System would cover district of Multan, Gujranwala, Muzafargarh, DG Khan, Rajanpur, Layah and Bhakar.
Special Assistant to Chief Minister on HWHOealth Khawaja Salman Rafique, Health Director-General Dr. Nisar Ahmad Cheema, Lahore Health Executive District Officer (EDO) Dr Inamul Haq also attended the workshop besides representatives of the WHO.
He said that the proposed Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance would help Punjab government to improve health of the people in general and streamline everything regarding nutrition in particular. Khawaja Salman Rafique said that the main objectives of surveillance system were to assess on a continuous basis the nutritional and related health status of the children at the selected sites, to identify and highlight the evolution and projected trends towards a nutritional and health emergency as related to food crises.


Courtesy of: WHO

Drug testing: WHO mission visits various labs in Lahore

World Health Organisation Mission on Assessing Drug Testing Laboratory (quality control laboratory) Capacity and Functioning has stressed that knowledge and skills of the staff engaged in maintenance of quality management system in the laboratory should be improved.
WHO Mission comprising Michael Ged Lee, Head of MHRA Lab UK; Juhan Ruut, Head of Estonia Lab; and Khalid Saeed Bukhari, Country Advisor Medicine WHO visited Lahore on the request of Federal and Punjab Government to provide technical assistance to assess Drug Testing Laboratory Capacity and its functioning.
The Mission visited various laboratories in the City of Lahore and also met with Secretary Health Punjab Arif Nadeem to resolve the issue by providing technical assistance to the government.

Secretary Health Arif Nadeem said, "The assessment of the existing capacity of a National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) is meant to bring out the existing competencies and identify gaps, which are required to be addressed if NMRA is to be effective in its regulatory functions."
Therefore, he said the assistance of WHO experts in advising the government of Pakistan to establish medicines regulatory authority at federal and provincial level was urgently requested and the final outcome of the exercise would improve the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of the NMRA in ensuring that the public accesses good quality medicines and health related products.
Dr Khalid Saeed Bukhari, Country Advisor Medicine WHO, said the government of Pakistan requested WHO to provide its technical assistance regarding Capacity and Functioning of Drugs Testing Labs in Lahore, that was why we are here, visiting and assessing the Laboratories for Drugs related Medicines.
Dr Bukhari said WHO mission was to map the role and functioning of medicines Quality Control (QC) laboratory in the local regulatory framework and to understand to which extent their present operations are helping to ensure medicines quality in the country.
"We are also assessing that up to which extent the laboratories are operated according to the principles of WHO recommended standards and are prepared for meeting the WHO-prequalification standards," he added.
The Mission also advised the laboratories how to improve structure and operation to better match the principles of laid down in WHO GPCL (Good practices of pharmaceutical quality control labs) and what should be changed in short, mid and long terms in order to achieve that the medicines QC laboratories have the maximum impact on ensuring the quality of medicines in the country.


Courtesy of: WHO

Countries should counter antimicrobial resistant bacteria: WHO

The World Health Organization has asked the countries to implement infection control measures and counter antimicrobial resistant bacteria.
WHO has identified Antimicrobial Resistance as a growing‚ global public health problem.
The members of the world community have also been asked to reinforce national policy on prudent use of antibiotics‚ reducing the generation of antibiotic resistant bacteria.


Courtesy of: WHO

Health potential tool for peace: WHO

WORLD Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Pakistan Dr Guido Sabatinelli has said that health can serve as an effective tool for peace in the South Asian context.He made these remarks on the sideline of the health session of Indo-Pak economic conference held under the aegis of ‘Aman Ki Asha’ at a hotel here on Monday.

Recounting his experiences in Palestine, Jordan and other countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region like Afghanistan that had been affected with war or civil strife since over three decades in addition to South American countries notably El Salvador and Peru and Pakistan itself, he said the polio campaigns had offered temporary respite to the population in conflict zones.

Referring to the situation in South Asia, Dr Sabatinelli pointed out that in the past, conflicts between the two countries had often led to mortality, disease and suffering. Psychological disturbances were also commonly witnessed in the affected population with symptoms such as depression, anxiety, anger, violent behavior, and suicide, he said. While the United Nations was mandated to improve both peace and health by paying attention to the humanitarian needs of such populations, WHO focused mainly on the health needs, he added.

The WHO representative traced the history of the health for peace efforts to the 1980s in Latin America, based on the belief that health, because of its unique value and universal acceptance, could serve as a bridge for peace, solidarity, and understanding among the peoples.

He said the strategy had often resulted in positive outcome in enhancing routine EPI coverage, polio eradication campaigns, general health promotion activities, and the control of Tuberculosis, Malaria and HIV/AIDS besides jointly addressing other public health issues after establishing a peace-through-health discipline.

Dr Sabatinelli also referred to a resolution of the World Health Assembly that asserted that the role of physicians and other health workers in the maintaining and promotion of peace was the most significant for attainment of health for all. He hoped that the conference by Aman Ki Asha would lead to health gains in both the India and Pakistan countries through cross-border collaboration. Dr Ghulam Nabi Kazi and Ms Gul Afridi also represented WHO in the session.


Courtesy of: WHO

Nutrition reports paint grim picture

The nutrition situation poses a huge challenge for Punjab in particular and Pakistan in general as the country aims to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. This was stated by Punjab Special Assistant to CM on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique while speaking at a one-day orientation workshop on ‘Nutrition Sentinel Site Surveillance at Punjab’.
The workshop was organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO), in collaboration with the Health Department at the Avari Hotel on Thursday.
Rafique said the levels of malnutrition are unacceptably high and will not only represent a challenge in reaching the Millennium Development Goals but will also constrain economic growth.
According to the National Nutrition Survey 2011, 58 percent of households are food insecure in Pakistan while 59.5 percent of these are in Punjab, said WHO Nutrition Technical Officer Dr Khizar Ashraf.
He said more than 29.7 percent of the children under five years of age, are underweight for their age. 43.7 percent of the children are affected by stunting and about 15.1 percent by wasting. 62.1 percent of children and 26.1 percent of pregnant women have anaemia in Pakistan.


Courtesy of: WHO