Polio eradication campaign: WHO to go ahead with direct payment method

Polio eradication campaign: WHO to go ahead with direct payment method

KARACHI: The prime minister has told us [the World Health Organisation] to implement the direct disbursement mechanism and make sure that the 200,000 vaccinators receive their dues, said the organisation’s senior coordinator for the polio eradication, Dr Elias Durry in response to reports on alleged corruption in the polio campaign in Baldia Town.
“This mechanism will bring transparency, efficiency and will ensure that the polio workers are not dependent on the EDO Health,” said Shahnaz Wazir Ali, the prime minister’s special assistant and national focal person on polio eradication.
When the WHO decided that it would be essential to cut out the middleman to beat corruption in its polio campaign, they introduced the direct disbursement mechanism. It would directly pay the vaccinators instead of routing the money through the government. This formula had, after all, worked beautifully in Nigeria.
What the WHO had not foreseen, however, was that the vaccinators would try to scam it.
But it surfaced recently that in Baldia Town, the Computerised National Identity Cards which the town health officer sent to the WHO for paperwork turned out to be fake.
“We have decided to make sure that all the vaccinators in the country get paid through the direct disbursement mechanism,” said Dr Durry. “We will try to make sure that every vaccinator receives the money directly. This mechanism will motivate teams too.” He added that in the polio campaign which was held in July, they had paid more than 85 per cent of the vaccinators were received the money on time.
“The WHO is trying to expand the programme on a nationwide scale to ensure that field team efforts are appreciated,” he said. “In September, 8,966 vaccinators, 852 area in charges and 204 Union Council medical officers from Vehari, Hyderabad, Charsadda, Kohat, Nowshehra, Pishin, Qillah Abdullah, Islamabad and Badin will access their payments directly. Eventually all polio workers will have access to this direct payment method.”

Young doctors hold protest - Young Doctors Association (YDA)

RAWALPINDI – The Young Doctors Association (YDA) has staged a protest demonstration at Benazir Bhutto (BB) Road against delay in finalising their service structure.
The young doctors blocked the BB Road and said that the protest would continue till issuance of the service structure notification.
YDA Vice President, Dr Waqas, who led the protest demonstration, said young doctors were performing their full-fledged duties in emergency wards in routine, dispelling the impression that they were not attending hospitals.
He blamed the Punjab government for not improving the conditions of hospitals and committing ill treatment with the community. He said Punjab government must change their rude behaviour against the doctors.
Traffic police had made special arrangement to divert the traffic to other roads during the protest.

Health risks of smoking underestimated, experts warn

Health risks of smoking underestimated, experts warn

ISLAMABAD – Smoking one cannabis cigarette every day for a year increases the chances of developing lung cancer by a similar amount as smoking 20 tobacco cigarettes each day for one year, says a study.
Experts are warning that the public dangerously underestimates the health risks linked to smoking cannabis, if someone smokes cannabis cigarette he/she inhales four times as much tar as from a tobacco cigarette, and five times as much carbon monoxide, reported BBC health.
The British Lung Foundation carried out a survey of 1,000 adults and found a third wrongly believed cannabis did not harm health.
And 88 per cent incorrectly thought tobacco cigarettes were more harmful than cannabis ones, when the risk of lung cancer is actually 20 times higher.
A report from the BLF says there are established scientific links between smoking cannabis and tuberculosis, acute bronchitis and lung cancer.
Part of the reason for this, say the experts, is that people smoking cannabis take deeper puffs and hold them for longer than when smoking tobacco cigarettes. Its survey found that young people are particularly unaware of the risks.
Some studies have also suggested cannabis increases the chances of developing mental health problems such as schizophrenia. Almost 40 per cent of the under-35s surveyed, the age group most likely to have smoked it, thought cannabis was not harmful.
Divorce affects kids’ academic, social skills: Study
Children of divorced parents tend to fall behind in their math and social skills, and may not catch up with their peers, a study shows.
Researchers say these difficulties along with feelings of anxiety, sadness, and low self-esteem become evident once the divorce proceedings officially begin, not before, Khaleej Times Reported.
There may be intense marital conflict between divorcing parents and debates about child custody and children of divorce have to move schools, and may fall behind in math and making friends and not catch up,” says study researcher Hyun Sik Kim, a PhD candidate in sociology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Of about 3,500 elementary school kids who were followed from kindergarten through fifth grade, children of divorce experienced setbacks in math and social skills and were more prone to feeling anxious, lonely, sad, or tended to have low self-esteem, compared with their peers whose parents remained married.
These problems first surfaced when the divorce proceedings began and did not get better or worse after it was finalised, the study shows.
Divorce did not seem to affect the children’s reading scores or “externalising” behaviours, including how often they argue, fight, or become angry.
Kim says he was surprised that these setbacks were not seen during the initial pre-divorce stage, which is often filled with strife.
But, “not all divorces have marital conflict in the pre-divorce stages and perhaps a couple that is likely to divorce may decide not to divorce because they see their children suffering already and think it would make it worse,” he says.
The new study looked only at elementary school-aged kids and can’t be extrapolated to older or younger children. “Research on divorce suggests that the younger the child is when their parents’ divorce, the greater the impact of the divorce,” Kim says.
That said, children might be affected differently based on their age at the time of their parents’ divorce.
“The most import thing is to have a long conversation with children and closely look at their development,” he says.
The conversation should begin by making sure the children understand that the divorce is not their fault. Coping With Divorce
Robin Friedman, a social worker in Westchester, NY, who specialises in family issues, says that the new finding makes intuitive sense.
“Up until the age of 8, kids can’t really conceptualise things,” she says. “Their parents might not be getting along and they are exposed to fighting and arguing, but that is their norm. It may not be the best norm, but it is what they know.”
A separation may be in the best interest for the child in the long run, but tangible change is difficult for them to process.
Serotonin essential to lead healthy, active life: Research
The latest research has revealed that Serotonin is an essential item for the body to remain healthy because it regulate daily appetite and control the body temperature According to BBC.
It also controls the health of mucus membrane found in stomach or intestines and it helps in toning up the blood vessels it controls the perception of pain it deals with depression.
Try taking foods, which helps in increasing serotonin. There are plenty of fruits that boost the nutrient and also help in enhancing the mood chemicals found in the brain.
Such nutrient boosting food includes pineapples, plums, bananas and sour cherries.
Sour cherries help in improving the sleep of an individual hence boosts the chemical level.
Protein rich food that are also serotonin boosting food include the beef, wild fish, eggs and all other animal foods that help in promoting the growth hormones in the body.
Carbohydrates rich food also boosts the nutrient. There are dairy products such as milk, cheese and cheddar cheese. These chemicals improve the mood and have the same effect as of boosting serotonin.
Dark chocolate is the best source of the nutrient in the case of sweet foods as many people like it too. It helps in increasing the level of serotonin in the brain and improves an individual’s mood as well. High levels of sugar in a human’s body will not respond in an energetic way. Instead it will make a person feel sleepy.

Nine new dengue cases reported in Karachi

KARACHI – As many as nine new dengue cases have been reported in the city during the last 24 hours. According to the Sindh Health Department’s Dengue Surveillance Cell, these new cases have taken the total number of cases to 207. Of these 207 patients, 205 tested positive for the virus.

Experts stress need for legislation on maternal health

PESHAWAR: Participants of a dialogue here Thursday stressed the need for proper legislation on maternal health in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.

The dialogue on “Saving Mothers in Communities” was organized by the Khwendo Kor, a civil society organisation, in collaboration with Mercy Corps and Research Advocacy Fund (RAF). The participants shared views about maternal mortality rate.

They expressed grave concern over increase in maternal mortality rate in the country, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and called for proper legislation on the issue so that it could be reduced.

The experts said it was 280 per year and should be brought down to 140 as per the MDGs’ commitment of 2015. Otherwise, they added that it will be impossible for Pakistan to fulfil its international obligations.

The participants including Executive District Officer (EDO Health) Peshawar Dr Abdur Rashid Khattak, District Coordinator for National Programme for Family Planning and Primary Health Care (NPFP &PHC), Dr Sheeda Husain, Dr Saeed-ur-Rehman, project coordinator Khwendo Kor for KP and Fata and Ms Bilquis Ismail, argued that lack of awareness, poverty, poor health conditions and negligence on the part of government was the reason for the rising number of maternal deaths.

They said the main reason was arranging deliveries at homes.

Dr Saeed-ur-Rehman said over 350,000 women died from preventable complications related to pregnancy and childbirth around the world every year. He said women in developing countries had disproportionately high maternal mortality and morbidity compared to developed countries.The maternal mortality rate in 2008 was the highest in third world countries with the rate of 290 out of 100,000 compared to 14 out of 100,000 deaths in developed countries, he added.

Steps to ascertain ownership of disputed polio case

Islamabad - The Prime Minister’s Polio Cell has called for immediate action to ascertain the origin of the recently detected polio case from Rawalpindi, which is being labelled as having originated from Bajaur.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Sector Shahnaz Wazir Ali passed on instructions to this effect during a high-level meeting held here Wednesday to take stock of the risk of spread of polio virus in the wake of floods in different parts of the country. Top government officials, representatives of international partners and provincial government officials attended the meeting. Shahnaz called for serious steps to ascertain the origin of the virus that led to a polio case, which has now become a bone of contention between Rawalpindi and Bajaur. “At the end of the day, it is our child who has been a victim of polio virus so we need to make collective efforts to sort the matter,” she pointed out.

Vaccination of animals urged to protect people in general against any increase in the number of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) cases

KARACHI: Fast approaching Eid-ul-Adha makes it all the important that the relevant authorities as well as traders dealing in livestock ensure proper vaccination of relevant animals against vaccine preventable diseases.
Chemical treatment of these with ticks is also extremely crucial to protect people in general against any increase in the number of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever (CCHF) cases.
CCHF, a serious health issue that holds every chance to gain strength as well severity during festivals like Baqra Eid required realistic approach to prevent any possible outbreak of the disease. Acaricides (chemicals intended to kill ticks) is the only realistic option for well-managed livestock production besides indirectly protecting those coming into direct contact with tick carrying animals.
Prof Afia Zafar, associated with microbiology department of Aga Khan University on Thursday mentioned that there was no safe and effective vaccine widely available for human protection against CCHF. This, she said was in a scenario where tick vectors are numerous and widespread while those with direct exposure to these animals at farms or even in their homes hold optimum chances to suffer from the ailment, that holds high chance of death.
In reply to a question, she said workers at slaughterhouses, care takers of CCHF patients, surgeons, doctors and nurses coming into unprotected contact with patients or the infected secretion are also at high risk. The microbiologist extensively discussing Dengue Fever, CCHF and Naegleria said these three different diseases with almost similar manifestations needed to be properly understood by the healthcare providers as well as the masses.
Although they are prevalent in Pakistan yet factors causing them or contributory to their spread are often, either not known, or ignored by people. It therefore important that people are educated with major focus on prevention as well as timely and proper diagnosis.

Medicine shortage due to ephedrine scam

ISLAMABAD: This winter, the country would have to brace itself for shortages in cold and cough medications as the delay in allocation of ephedrine has hit the manufacturing side.

The federal government on Wednesday told Dawn that the lingering high-profile ephedrine scam had affected the timely quota allocation of the drug to local and multinational companies.

The ephedrine scam is one of the biggest political scandals in recent times and involves a son of former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and then federal health minister Makhdoom Shahbuddin.

“The government has finally released the much-needed ephedrine quota to national and multinational companies, so they can manufacture the necessary medications to cure winter illnesses,” a senior ranking official who was part of the meeting on the issue told Dawn.

According to the official, the ephedrine quota was released after scrutiny by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF).

“Earlier, the Ministry of Regulations and Services would look after quotas, but now the ANF is issuing the quota,” said Federal Minister Firdaus Ashiq Awan.

The minister observed: “The companies were using the ephedrine quota before as well but with the delay in allocations, the entire chain of production has been affected. Import of material will take at least two to three months, and the shortage of flu and cough medications is a concern for us.”

Minister Awan was of the view that ideally the ephedrine quota should have been issued in January this year to give companies time to meet the production of deadlines.

An industry expert said that ephedrine is a controlled chemical manufactured with the approval of the government, and is used in popularly prescribed brands such as Coughcole, Triaminic, Panadol, Sincos, Arenic and Telfast during winter.

When enquired about the quantity of ephedrine released by the government, the expert replied: “I have no clue about the quantity released to the companies.”

Meanwhile, when Dawn contacted ANF spokesman Col Akhtar Abbas, he said: “The quota has been issued as per the approval of a committee headed by the secretary of the Ministry of Narcotics Control.”

The members of the committee working for allocation of ephedrine quota are none other than representative of director-general of the ANF, joint secretary of the Ministry of Narcotics Control, joint secretary of Regulations and Services Division, and the chief executive officer of the Drug Regulatory Agency of Pakistan (DRAP).

“This time the quota has been allocated on merit after complete scrutiny by the ANF. Previously, the director general health of the defunct health ministry would allocate the quota without any monitoring which led to ephedrine scam,” he maintained.

The spokesman claimed that ANF’s job is to only allocate the quota since the head of the DRAP is the technical advisor to the committee.

“Our job is to scrutinise quota allocation and have complete observations as to how much and who is using it. The DRAP’s job is to give us a list of companies to whom we issued ephedrine on merit,” said Col Abbas.