QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti has said full immunisation coverage in the province, which had remained stagnant for five years, has risen from 38 percent to 47pc within a year. Speaking here on November 8, CM Bugti noted that “significant improvement” in the province’s public health sector is the result of effective reforms introduced by his government. The chief minister said there has been a remarkable rise in the rate of child
Child Rights in Focus
LOWER DIR: Residents of Malakand Bala here have complained about lack of a girls’ primary school in the village, forcing pupils to study at the boys’ school. Talking to reporters, Malik Abdul Mustaan, Farhad and others said the boys’ school was also without a boundary wall, making it unsafe for students as there was a risk of children falling into the nearby stream. The residents said a dirt road was constructed to the area
PMA alleges lack of political will to ensure sanitation, waste management and fumigation turned cities into breeding sites of mosquitoes • Over 400 patients currently under treatment in public and private hospitals: health dept • Officials say over 11,700 cases reported from Sindh this year KARACHI: As the dengue fever crisis persists with more than 400 patients battling the mosquito-borne viral infection in hospitals across the province, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has called
SHANGLA: A minor girl lost her life after a stray dog bit her in the Makhozi area of Puran tehsil of Shangla. The nine-year-old girl’s death due to a stray dog bite has raised questions over the effectiveness of anti-rabies vaccines. According to locals, the incident occurred in the Makhuzi area of Shangla district, where a 9-year-old girl, Anab, daughter of Muhammad Ayub and a resident of Sangrai, died of rabies despite receiving immediate
BAHAWALNAGAR: A sessions court in Fort Abbas sentenced a man to life imprisonment on Saturday for raping a minor boy. Additional Sessions Judge Shahbaz Ahmad convicted Shehzad Ahmad of Khichiwala, who appeared on bail, of committing the offence under section 376-III (rape of a minor or a person with a mental or physical disability) of the PPC. A case was registered against Shehzad by the Khichiwala police on the complaint of victim’s uncle on
KARACHI: Police on November 8 claimed to have arrested a man for allegedly killing an eight-year-old boy in an incident of aerial firing near Gujjar Nala on the night of November 7. According to Gulberg police, a bullet fired from an unknown direction pierced the main door of a house near Gujjar Nala and hit the boy, Mehtab Husain, on the shoulder while he was in the courtyard. The child succumbed to his wound.
ISLAMABAD: A child and an adult were reportedly exposed to HIV last month here after infected blood and components were issued by the blood bank of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) due to alleged negligence and procedural failures. In the first case, two components of HIV positive blood, fresh frozen plasma and platelets, were issued and transfused to a child from Azad Kashmir at PIMS when HIV status of blood bag was not
LAHORE: Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique said that under the Chief Minister’s Children’s Heart Surgery Programme, more than 8,000 innocent children have been completely free-of-cost heart surgeries across the province at a cost of billions of rupees. Under the CM’s Children’s Heart Surgery Programme, hundreds of children from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 192 from Azad Kashmir, 85 from Islamabad, 25 from Balochistan, 23 from Gilgit-Baltistan and 17 from Sindh have been completely free of cost
• Hospitals report large number of chest infection cases, including pneumonia • People urged to wear face masks and avoid going out unnecessarily • Experts stress need for eating nutritious food to raise immunity levels KARACHI: With a significant drop in minimum temperature, Karachi has been experiencing what the Met Office has described as “hazardous smog” that poses a serious health risk to people, particularly children. Health experts have called upon the general public
SAHIWAL: Five armed suspects, including two women, abducted two minor children and assaulted their parents over an old enmity at village Dadra Bala at night. The attackers also took away gold ornaments and Rs50,000 cash from the victim family. According to police sources, Bilal, a farm worker and resident of Dadra Bala, had ongoing family and financial disputes with Allah Rakha. Report said Allah Rakha, accompanied by Ashraf Ashoo, Aslam, Parveen and Mero, stormed
MUZAFFARGARH: Police foiled an attempt to murder three minor girls and arrested an elderly man involved in the crime during an operation near Basti Gharyal, officials said on November 6. According to sources, officers from Head Bakaini Police Station reached the scene after receiving a tip-off from a passerby and found three young girls lying critically injured with deep forehead wounds. The attacker, identified as Khadim Hussain, attempted to flee but was overpowered and
KARACHI: The health department declared on November 6 four more deaths — three of them children under 12 years — from dengue fever, raising the official tally to 25 in the province. According to the department’s data, two victims — a 30-year-old woman residing in district South and an 11-year-old girl residing in Keamari — had been admitted to the Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital and the Ziauddin Hospital in Karachi. The two other