perspective-health

Recognising Nutritional Needs of Children

HEALTHY human capital is a critical gauge of economic stability. The money spent on healthcare is a major determinant of economic growth which can help increase income levels. According to S.J. Mushkin’s hypothesis, it is an investment that concerns the national economy and aids in high productivity and prosperity. Likewise, learning skills have a pivotal role in economic growth; these…

Glaucoma for Children

A nice year old Hajra visited the paediatric ophthalmology department at our hospital with complaints of decreased vision. An examination revealed that her visual loss was significant and irreversible in both eyes. All that could be done at this stage was to prevent further loss of vision by surgery. Hajra…

Dyslexia Children Struggle through Academics

For a society which obsesses over rearing the perfect child, children faring…

Immunisation for a healthier tomorrow

VACCINES are the most cost-effective health care interventions. A dollar spent on…

PUNJAB Notes Of Children

Poets and children have one thing in common; a sense of wonder. Albert Einstein would protest; don’t exclude the scientists. Their intuitive capability is an undying source of wonder that keeps them going in their pursuit of knowing what seems to be unknowable. With age this sense loosens its grip…

Vulnerable Polio Worker

It is both sad and embarrassing that on the very day the Prime Minister launched the year’s first nationwide polio campaign, a police constable on duty was shot dead in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Jamrud town. This was supposed to mark a renewed effort to eradicate a crippling disease, but instead, it exposed…

Polio Pains

BEING one of the two countries — out of 194 member states of the World Health Organisation — that have not been able to eradicate polio is a persistent national embarrassment; 192 countries have managed to get rid of the virus, which cripples children for life. These include the poorest…

Nutrition Challenge

WHEN a country’s children go hungry, its future withers. In Pakistan, where over 40pc of children under five are stunted, nearly 18pc are wasted, and more than half suffer from anaemia, malnutrition threatens to undermine a generation. For a middle-income country with nuclear capabilities and significant agricultural output, such statistics…

Against Children

WHY is this country so against its own children and its own future? Are you surprised by this question? Look at some of the statistics and facts below and see if the question is still surprising. Some 40 percent of our children are said to be malnourished, that is, four…

Suicidal Behaviour

CHILDREN constitute around 45 percent of the Pakistani population, with 22.7pc adolescents from 10 to 19 years. Along with their educational, safety and physical health needs, there is also an urgent need to prevent and respond to their mental health challenges. The WHO estimates that 15pc of the global burden…

Vulnerable Vaccinators

THE campaign to eradicate polio from Pakistan cannot succeed unless the safety of vaccinators and security personnel on the front lines of this battle is guaranteed. According to one count, over 200 polio workers and police personnel have been martyred in the field since the 1990s. The latest tragedy occurred…

Smog and Schooling

WHETHER schools are open or closed, it is not going to have much of an impact on smog levels across Punjab. The decision about closing schools has more to do with some notion that children will be less exposed to the smog if they stay at home than if they…

Water, Sanitation A Dream For Public School Students

LAHORE. Despite a billion-rupee budget, schools across the province have no clean bathrooms or drinking water available for students For students spending nearly six to seven hours away from home each day, the school premises become almost like a second home. Yet for the hapless students stuck in public schools,…

Ending Polio

WITH polio cases in Pakistan rising sharply in recent weeks, the government has unveiled the National Emergency Action Plan for Polio 2024-25. The country has already reported 39 cases this year, compared to just six in 2023. The spike has raised concerns about our ability to eradicate the virus, with…