Minister calls for effective measures to reduce infant mortality rate

NWFP Minister for Information, Public Relations and Inter- Provincial Co-ordination Mian Iftikhar Hussain has stressed the need for taking effective measures to reduce infant mortality rate and ensure better healthcare facilities for mother and child in order to pave way for a healthy and prosperous society.
This he said while addressing a daylong advocacy seminar on " Maternal, New-born & Child Health" arranged by the National Maternal, New-born and Child Health (MNCH) Programme at a local hotel here on Tuesday.
Director General Health, Dr Sajid Shaheen, Provincial Co-ordinator MNCH Dr Salar Khan, Federal Deputy Manager MNCH Dr Ziyad Dawar, Provincial Deputy Co-ordinator MNCH Dr Akhtar Ali and UNICEF Representative Dr Bilal also addressed the seminar and highlighted the significance of the issue.
Information Minister on this occasion said that mother is a great gift from Allah who gave birth to the greatest personalities and history was witnessed to their role adding that infants were our shining future and we would have to secure this asset by taking care of the health of mother and child.
He also urged the need to trickle down and organised MNCH programme at grassroots level so that common man particularly the people of far-flung and backward areas could be benefited from it. "We will have to ensure better healthcare of both mother and child if we want to establish a developed and prosperous nation", he opined.
Moreover, he continued that untrained and unskilled females engaged in gynec practice should be discouraged and emphasised the need for launching an awareness programme against such practitioners, this he hope would definitely reduce the infant mortality rate as well as ensure best healthcare facilities. Referring to the unfortunate wave of terrorism in the Province, Mian Iftikhar said that provincial government was determined to secure the life and property of the people.
He appealed to the masses to cooperate with the government to eliminate this evil from the society who in the disguise of religion was killing innocent people, destroying educational infrastructure and even targeting the sacred religious places. He added that no religion allow the killing of innocent people therefore it was need of the hour to fight this menace collectively.