Karachi is dusty these days. Trees alongside the roads are dry and parched. Foliage has turned black and laden with soot. A few trees that blossom in winter are in gloominess. Many seem to have spiritless souls and give a wilted look.
The freshness of the morning, which was the hallmark of the city and the viewing of the rising of the sun across the sandy beach of Clifton, usually referred to by the old Karachiites as the eruption of molten gold from the other edge of the sea have all disappeared.
The atmosphere of commercialism has hit the salubrious environs of the city. The environs that had kept the city's population cheerful and warm-hearted till recently is no more. Trade and industry has expanded at the cost of human happiness.
Sufferings and a sense of helplessness reign in every nook and corner of the city, which was once a city of comfort and joy. It was famous for its fresh air, cleanliness and sparse population of amiable people.
Health care professionals have now advised people to go out of Karachi at least once in a week in search of fresh air so that their respiratory systems continue to function in a satisfactory manner.
Dr Nadeem Rizvi, head of chest medicine at the Jinnah Post-graduate Medical Center, making a presentation on asthma at the "Asthma Awareness Programme" held at a local hotel last week advised Karachiites to watch their chest infections and related complications with care. They should take proper care of the respiratory system and avoid exposure to dust, smoke and extreme temperatures in the daytime.
He told his audience that in 1992, the World Health Organisation and the US-based National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute jointly formed the global initiative for asthma (GINA) with the objective to cut death and disability by developing and implementing an optimal strategy for asthma management and prevention.
GINA goals call for no limitation on physical activities and exercise. GINA states that the overall aim of treatment is to achieve good control, and defines this as: minimal/no chronic symptoms (including at night-time), infrequent/no exacerbation, no emergency visits, minimal/no need for emergency beta2 agonist, no limitation on activities, including exercise, peak expiratory flow (PEF) daily variation of less than 20 percent, near normal PEF and minimal/no adverse effects from medicine.
He said that meeting all these goals is considered to constitute asthma control. However, patient surveys have shown that many patients accept level of asthma control that fall far short of accepted guidelines.
Currently 95 percent of people with asthma lead a life that is compromised by their symptoms, not knowing that gaining absolute control over asthma is possible.
People should know that asthma accounts for about one in every 250 deaths world-wide. The numbers of disability-adjusted life years lost due to asthma world-wide have been estimated to be around 15 million per year. It is estimated that an additional 100 to 150 million people are likely to have asthma globally by 2025.
Globally, the economic costs associated with asthma are estimated to exceed those of tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS combined. Asthma has been termed one of the most common under-diagnosed and under-treated diseases.
The burden of asthma in many countries is of sufficient magnitude to warrant its recognition as a priority disorder in government health strategies. Around 300 million people world-wide are currently affected with asthma.
Many of the deaths caused by asthma are preventable. A considerable number of asthma patients do not comply with the medication and learn to live with un-treated asthma.
Most asthma patients are still not aware of the fact that asthma is a manageable disease.
But what remains to be seen is the growing environmental degradation that affects health in a number of ways.
Though asthma is not a disease but a condition but the development of this condition is dependent upon the quality of environment. Will the city district government of Karachi look into this problem?