A public awareness seminar on health problems of Sindh was organized by Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) at SIUT Chhablani Medical Centre Sukkur on Wednesday.
Explaining evolution of surgical services in Sindh, Professor Ali Muhammad Ansari said health care problems of Sindh should be identified correctly.
He said health infrastructure should be improved and prevention of diseases should be the main goal, adding that examples of community based programmes of Vietnam, Iran and China should be studied and lessons should be learned, adding that lady health visitors (LHVs) living in the community could be appointed.
SIUT Director Prof Adib Rizvi while describing genesis of this centre said a large number of poor patients are visiting SIUT were from upper Sindh, lower Punjab and Balochistan who could not afford travelling expenses.
He said that the SIUT took the initiative and with the government-community partnership and the doctors acting as catalysts, this institution is providing state of the art and quality health care facilities to these needy and poor patients, which will be extended and sustained, he added.
Dr MA Almani, describing the history of medical services in Sindh said that in 1947 the population of Sindh was only 4 million and there were only two medical colleges in Pakistan. Now population has risen to 50 million and there are 21 medical colleges.
Common problems of Sindh are multi drug resistant (MDR) malaria and TB, typhoid, hepatitis, diabetes, hypertension and asthma, he said, adding that these should be addressed in a systematic way.
Paediatrician Professor Dr Zeenat Issani said that one fourth of population is below age of 12 years adding that health care facilities are not sufficient to address problems of child health.
She said mobility and mortality in prenatal should be addressed carefully. Good antenatal care should be provided. She said that maternal anaemia is more common in our population. She said well-trained midwives can take care of these problems, Dr Issani observed.
Dr Mashoor Alam said diabetes is common cause of end stage renal disease, heart diseases, blindness and gangrene resulting in amputation of the limbs.
He said people should know the complications of this disease and they should be educated about preventive measures.
Dr Alam said that healthy life style includes 30 minutes daily walk and (if overweight) then weight reduction up to 7 percent may reduce chance of diabetes up to 58 percent.
Professor Dr Ejaz Ahmed said early identification of chronic kidney diseases by screening high risk population like diabetes and hypertension at community level is possible and cheap.
He said that tight control of blood pressure and diabetes mellitus can prevent chronic kidney disease.
Professor Dr Manzoor Hussain said that the Province of Sindh has the highest prevalence of stone diseases in the sub-continent. About 50-60 percent of Urological work load is of stone disease. Of these, 9.6 present with renal failure adding that the preventive measures include providing potable drinking water and increasing fluid intake, improving nutrition of children and reducing meat and salt intake.
Dr Mujahid Hassan said that the prevalence of Hepatitis B and C is quite high in this region. One in every 13 persons is suffering from either hepatitis B or C. In Sindh, the prevalence of hepatitis B is 2.5 percent and anti-HCV is 5 percent.
He also said that the lack of health facilities in Pakistan may lead to chronic hepatitis, Cirrhosis and liver cancers.
He said SIUT is focusing its efforts on liver transplantation and extending efforts towards prevention through public awareness programmes.