The Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) on Friday launched an awareness campaign on the measles outbreak and the on hazardous impacts of open defecation among poor communities in Punjab and Sindh.
The PPAF organised an orientation workshop on these two issues at a local hotel which was presided over by PPAF Public Goods and Services Senior Group Head Zaffar Pervez Sabri and attended by over 100 representatives of its partner organisations, local support and village organisations, community organisations and PPAF officials.
Zaffar Pervez Sabri emphasized that measles was a curable disease if vaccinated timely and if preventive measures were adopted effectively.
Contaminated water, unhygienic conditions and non-immunization were measles’ major causes. Sabri said that it was important that every child between two months and ten years of age should be immunized against measles as it may lead to death if the child suffers high temperature and salt reduction.
A network of PPAF community organisations, partner organisations, local support organizations, schools and health centres would further sensitize various communities about the measles outbreak.
PPAF also launched a comprehensive radio campaign in Sindhi and Thari languages to inform communities about measles’ prevention methods through FM-93 of Radio Pakistan between May 15 and June 15.
Moreover, PPAF has also planned to launch a campaign in six selected union councils in district Layyah for creating awareness among communities on community-led sanitation and the harmful effects of open defecation.
The campaign’s focus would be pinpointing the dangerous effects of poor sanitation and adopting healthy sanitation practices.
More than 70 percent of Pakistan’s population does not have access to proper sanitation, which is one of the main causes of infectious and abdominal disease outbreaks, leading to two million children’s deaths annually.
Over a decade, PPAF has worked with a range of institutions for the uplift of the poor.
Adopting an integrated, multi-sector, community-led and demand-driven strategy, PPAF’s approach is to develop inclusive, representative, transparent and accountable institutions for the economically disadvantaged. It is also concerned in particular with women participation in institution building.