NWFP Minister for Health Syed Zahir Ali Shah has vowed to convert Thalassemia Prevention Project into a regular public health programme. This, he said, while addressing as chief guest at a ceremony on the eve of World Thalassemia Day at Khyber Medical College (KMC) Peshawar on Thursday.
The function was arranged jointly by Thalassemia Prevention Project, Thalissemia Federation NWFP, Welfare Hand and Ihsas Organisation and was participated by health experts, social workers, Thalassemic patients and their parents.
Those who spoke on the occasion included Principal KMC, Professor Fazle Ahmad, prominent paediatrician, Professor Abdul Hameed, Dr Muhammad Tahir, Mian Atiq-ur-Rehman and Naveedul Bashar. Ghazi Sial and Dr Saleh Muhammad highlighted the problems of thalassemic patients in their poetic endeavours.
The health minister said that thalassemia was a painful disease and besides its patients, their parents also face great hardships. He lauded the efforts of the welfare bodies, which are busy in providing treatment facilities to the thalassemic patients.
He asked philanthropists to extend generous support to such organisation enabling them to continue their noble mission. The minister promised concrete steps for allotting beds and provision of free treatment facilities to thalassemic patients in public sector hospitals of the province. He also assured all-out support to a foreign donor agency for the establishment of a bone marrow transplant unit in the province.
Director Thalassemia Prevention Project, Professor Abdul Hameed informed the participants that thalassemia was the major genetic disease in the country and five to 10 percent population of the province ie, 2.5 million people are suffering from it. He said that majority of the countries of the world had controlled the disease by initiating effective preventing measures.
The expert went on to say that the NWFP government had started the first ever project for prevention of the disease in the country. "80 percent work of first phase of the project has been completed", he maintained. Dr Hameed elaborated that blood-screening centre had been established at KMC under the project while a mobile screening centre will start family blood screening in the province within next six months.
Professor Fazal Ahamd underlined the need of effective prevention strategies to control diseases and ensure a health society. Mian Atiq-ur-Rehman said that iron-overload and ineffective chelation therapy were the basic causes of mortality in thalassemic patients in the country.
Dr Muhammad Tahir underscored the need for extending proper iron chelation services to thalassemic patients to ensure their better health. Later on the health minister also led an awareness walk to mark the day.
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