Category: Health

HEC, United Nations Development Programme, Australian High Commission and Sehat Kahani inaugurates their fifth Wellness Centre in University of Malakand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Malakand (Muhammad Yasir) Sehat Kahani, with support from United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), HEC and the Australian High Commission in Pakistan (AHC), inaugurated its fifth Wellness Centre at University of Malakand under its Mental Health Initiative to extend holistic mental health counselling and support services to the students.

This Wellness Centre is constructed with a dynamic approach to address the mental health issues and wellbeing of the students. Under this initiative, the students are not only provided with a Wellness Centre consisting of an in-person counselling vicinity and a recreational centre, but the faculty is also trained by Mental Health Experts of Sehat Kahani to provide first aid mental health counselling. Furthermore, to ensure that mental health support is always available to the students, Sehat Kahani has provided all of the university students with free access to Sehat Kahani’s E-Health Application where national and international Mental Health Experts can be consulted with complete privacy and confidentiality anytime.

The inauguration of the Wellness Centre was graced by Professor Dr. Gul Zaman, Vice Chancellor, University of Malakand; Dr. Sara Saeed Khurram, CEO and Cofounder, Sehat Kahani; and Youth Employment and Private Sector Development Specialist, UNDP Mr. Akbar Durrani.

During the inauguration ceremony at University of Malakand, Vice Chancellor Dr. Gul Zaman participated in an in-app video consultation with Sehat Kahani’s psychologist on the E-Health Application placed in Wellness Centre. He appreciated the initiative and its importance by saying, “As an internationally renowned university which provides students with an exceptional education and facilities, University of Malakand sees a lot of potential in this initiative of an in-house Wellness Centre blended with online counseling services to ensure that students can seek help with trust and anonymity for their mental health concerns. We look forward to making a positive impact on the academic and personal lives of students with the inauguration of this Wellness Centre in University of Malakand. The Institute expresses its gratitude to Sehat Kahani, HEC and UNDP and AHC for their assistance in this regard.”

In his address to the present faculty members and students of University of Malakand, Mr. Akbar Durrani said, “Awareness of mental health and wellbeing is integral for not only people going through difficult times but also for widespread community members to extend empathetic support to their friends and family in times of need. On behalf of UNDP, I would like to thank Vice Chancellor and entire faculty of the university for actively participating in this initiative; and to Sehat Kahani for integrating such an important aspect of wellbeing in the university through a comprehensive platform for the students.”

Dr. Sara Saeed Khurram, strongly believes in combating the stigmas attached to seeking help for mental well-being. She said, “Sehat Kahani, through this partnership with UNDP, HEC and KP Universities, aims to reach out to each and every student in the University of Malakand who requires mental health counselling and wellbeing support. We want to ensure that professional help is available and accessible through creative and sustainable platforms.”

 

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) The Aga Khan University Hospital has been reaccredited by The Joint Commission International (JCI) for another three years. AKUH was the first hospital in Pakistan to receive this honour in 2006 and has successfully maintained this accreditation throughout. In 2015, AKUH became the first and only academic medical centre in Pakistan accredited by JCI. Continuing the journey of excellence in healthcare services and delivering on the globally recognised best practices, AKUH leadership is dedicated to setting higher standards in the country. JCI is an independent, not-for-profit organisation that accredits and certifies healthcare organisations and their programmes. JCI, whose headquarters are in Chicago, USA, surveys healthcare organisations globally. Only those healthcare organisations that achieve the highest level of patient care and safety are eligible for accreditation.

Dr Shahid Shafi, CEO AKUH, Pakistan, lauded the teams and staff for their persistent efforts and hard work, which resulted in the successful re accreditation. “In this exercise, everyone displayed an utmost commitment to excellence and high-quality care that our patients trust.” During his speech, following the survey’s successful conclusion on Friday, 24 September 2021, Dr Shafi remarked, “This accreditation is a testament to our commitment to providing the highest quality care that our patients trust,” he added while addressing the audience. The survey repeats every three years and analyses the compliance to standards for patient safety, assessment and care of patients, safe surgical care and infection control practices, clinical research, and medical education against global benchmarks.

The successful completion of the survey provides a gold seal of approval for excellence in service delivery to the patients. “I am impressed by the participation of faculty, nurses, administrative staff, postgraduate trainees and medical students. It truly reflects everyone’s spirit for improving quality and patient safety in the only Academic Medical Centre in Pakistan that the Joint Commission International has accredited”, said Dr Mairaj Shah, Chair of the hospital’s JCIA Task Force.

As an institution of distinction, AKUH is committed to the highest standards of healthcare delivery and patient safety. The reaccreditation further solidifies AKUH’s belief in continuously striving for excellence in healthcare delivery in the country. AKUH provides access to those who cannot afford quality healthcare due to financial constraints. In 2020, AKUH disbursed PKR 3 billion in patient welfare and zakat to provide quality healthcare to over 850,000 patients across Pakistan.

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) The Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC), and NICVD, the country’s leading institute for cardiovascular diseases, partnered with leading pharma company Ferozsons Laboratories Limited to light up Karachi, the city of lights, in red to celebrate World Heart Day.

To raise awareness and promote heart-healthy activities, Karachi’s  iconic landmarks were lit red in support of World Heart Day to signify that the citizens of Karachi and the nation stand with the medical fraternity to reduce the burden of cardiovascular diseases in Pakistan. The landmarks being illumaniated included NICVD, Frere Hall, KMC Tower, and Ayesha Manzil.

The celebrations started on the night of September 29, when  NICVD was illuminated in the presence of leading cardiologists of NICVD. The lighting of the institution was meant to honor the endless sacrifices of the medical community and cardiac professionals who continue to work tirelessly, putting themselves in harm’s way through the pandemic to combat cardiovascular diseases.

Barrister Mr. Murtaza Wahab, Administrator of Karachi, led a heart-health walk within the NICVD, where a joint press conference with the leadership of the Institute was conducted to create awareness about heart healthy activities that the public can take to prevent heart disease. 

To mark the event, Barrister Mr. Murtaza. Wahab said “We want to thank our healthcare heroes for their extraordinary care for patients even during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cardiologists and medical professionals from all fields won the hearts of the nation by putting patients first, despite personal dangers posed to them by the virus. This is an act of bravery and heroism, and this campaign is our small way of thanking our heroes and contributing towards their awareness efforts against heart disease, the country’s deadliest silent killer.”

On the occasion, Executive Director of NICVD Professor Nadeem Qamar said “World heart day every year reminds us of our individual and collective responsibility toward protecting our, our families and our nation’s heart health. Every one of us has a role to play starting from an individual adopting healthy life style. Every role, however small it may seem is an important contributor to our collective response to this rapidly growing epidemic. NICVD being a premier health care institution is well aware of its responsibilities towards cardiac health care at provincial and national level. NICVD stands for state of art cardiac care for all and its services encompass comprehensive multifaceted approach to prevention and treatment of diseases of heart and blood vessels”.

Mr. Osman Waheed, CEO of Ferozsons thanked Administrator KMC Mr. Murtaza Wahab, DC Central Karachi Mr. Taha Saleem, Prof. Nadeem Qamar, Prof. Khawar Kazmi, and the team at NICVD, for highlighting the importance of preventive care on the occasion of World Heart Day.

Peshawar (Muhammad Yasir) Surgeons of Rehman Medical Institute (RMI) Peshawar, have performed a surgery and removed brain tumour from a patient who remained awake throughout the procedure.  This procedure was led by Neurosurgeon Dr. Akbar Ali Khan and it took almost 2 hours to be completed.

The 30 years old patient is resident of Malakand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The doctor removed his tumour close to the tricky part of brain, which controls arms and legs. It was the first of its kind surgery carried out at RMI.

Dr. Akbar Ali Khan told that brain awake surgeries have also been conducted at Aga Khan Hospital, Karachi and Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad. He said that awake brain surgery, also called awake craniotomy, is a type of procedure in which the patient is awaked but sedated, allowing neurosurgeons to remove the tumour that would otherwise be inoperable because of the growths being too close to areas of the brain that control speech and limb movement, etc.

“If tumour or the area of brain where seizures occur is near to the parts of the brain that control vision, limbs movement or speech, the patient may need to be awake during surgery,” he said.  According to him this kind of surgery allows the surgeons to monitor the activity in brain and the patient response. He said that the patient’s responses help surgeons to ensure that correct area of his/her brain that requires the surgery is being treated. This procedure, he said, also lowers the risk of damage to functional areas of patient’s brain.

However, Dr. Akbar Ali Khan warned that doctors must be sure that they are not damaging an area of the brain that affects patient’s speech and motor skills as it is difficult to pinpoint those areas exactly before surgery. “Awake brain surgery allows the surgeon to know exactly which areas of your brain control those functions and avoid them,” he added.

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir)

 The parent company of Naya Nazimabad, Javedan Corporation Limited (JCL), has received a sanction of PKR 1 billion from Habib Bank Limited (HBL) under SBP’s Islamic Refinance Facility at zero percent (0%) mark-up for construction of Naya Nazimabad Hospital.

Naya Nazimabad had initially planned to construct this hospital in 2025 but SBP’s Islamic Refinance Facility and HBL’s contribution to participate in this project initiative by passing on this facility at zero percent (0%) enabled and encouraged Naya Nazimabad to advance construction of the Hospital by 4 years.

Naya Nazimabad Hospital, a tertiary, not-for-profit but self-sustainable institution, will be developed in two phases. The first phase will consist of 250 beds across 4 floors and is targeted to be inaugurated by April 2023.

First phase’s architectural approval has been granted by Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), Government of Sindh, while engineering approval is in process at a swift pace. The Company plans to perform ground-breaking for the Hospital as soon as all requisite approvals processes are complete.

 “Naya Nazimabad is a labour of love for us and we are committed to providing a holistic living experience to all our residents with world-class amenities”, said Chairman, Javedan Corporation Limited, Mr. Arif Habib. “Ali Habib Medical Centre is already serving the community but we felt that there are not enough hospitals of this scale to cater to the area’s needs hence we have embarked on this journey so we may be able to offer quality and affordable health care to all.”

Naya Nazimabad is an integrated housing scheme which focuses on healthy community living. It is the largest master-planned, gated residential development in Karachi and will house more than 30,000 families at its completion. It has the provision for all necessary amenities for today’s living, within walking distance for its residents. Naya Nazimabad is a self-contained city, conceptualized and developed with the vision of providing a peaceful community atmosphere and a healthy lifestyle.

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Lahore (NUT-DESK)

The COVID-19 positivity rate has dropped down to 3.6 per cent in Pakistan during the past 24 hours, quoting National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC). As per the latest figures released by the NCOC, 31 more people lost their lives due to COVID-19, lifting the overall death toll to 27,597.

During the last 24 hours, 48,732 tests were conducted to detect the deadly virus, out of which 1,757 cases remained positive at the positivity rate of 3.6 per cent. So far, Pakistan has conducted 19,240,519 COVID-19 tests.

4,033 people are still under critical condition due to coronavirus, while 1,765 people regained their health from the pandemic during the said period. Overall 1,162,177 Pakistanis have recovered their health. 

As of September 27, a total of 76,141,484 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered across the country. Out of the total doses, 25,493,964 people have been fully vaccinated while 56,229,457 people have received the first dose of the vaccine so far.

 

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) A LEADING anti-tobacco campaigner has accused the World Health Organisation (WHO) of being “culpable” for the deaths of millions of people because it is trying to ban safer e-cigarette products.

Clive Bates, the former director of the anti-smoking campaign group ASH, told journalists at a briefing last week that Britain needs to push internationally for a change of policy to save millions of lives. It came as Parliamentarians have called for the UK Government to use its Brexit freedoms to have a “big independent voice” at the United Nations (UN) COP9 summit on tobacco harm to push for greater use of e-cigarettes as an alternative. 

Mr Bates branded the WHO as “negligent and incompetent” and claimed that the global health body is “ignoring the science”.

He said: “Millions of lives are on the line. That is not hyperbole. If you resist a life-saving technology where progress has been very slow in the past then essentially you are culpable in denying people that life-saving technology and the result will be more cases of disease and death.”

He pointed out that the WHO has a target to reduce deaths from non-communicable diseases by a third but “they are way off track.”

He said that new devices and technology means that nicotine can now be delivered with electrical heating rather than from the heat from combustion.

“Combustion was always the problem,” he said. “It releases thousands of harmful agents ‑ carcinogens, respiratory sensitizers, cardio toxic agents and so on.

“They, not the nicotine, are responsible for the toll of death and disease which now amounts towards eight million people worldwide a year according to the WHO. In scale terms that is comparable to the weight of mortality from covid in 2019.

“These e-cigarette products have the potential to bring that eight million down and remove many or all of the disease and risk.”

Some estimates believe the risk could be reduced by 95 percent.

He slammed the WHO for awarding India’s health minister a prize for banning e-cigarettes when there are 100 million smokers in his country.

And he said that campaigns against the new products are being funded by American billionaires.

“If you look for the justification of this [in India] you will see nothing of the lost opportunities to those adult smokers, nothing about illicit trade, nothing about younger people being diverted from smoking. 

“It is the shallowest level of policy making you have ever seen at international level and it is championed by WHO.

“The WHO are really bad actors in this space.”

Lord Ridley, who chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group on Vaping, said that he “hates cigarettes” and tobacco products but warned that vested interests are trying to block e-cigarettes.

He said: “If something was saving lives like a car seat belt and somebody tried to ban it then it would be ridiculous and I see little difference.”

His APPG report has urged the government to find its newly independent voice from the EU to push for a change in international policy.

He said: “Now the UK has left the EU it does mean that as we approach the tobacco control talks at the UN we are an independent voice, which we weren’t before.

“Previously we had to be part of the EU position.

“An event like this a country like the UK has a big voice.

“That is why the APPG report urged the UK to take a strong position on harm reduction and the opportunity here to go in with a strong harm reduction message.”

He added: “We are not trying to save the tobacco industry, we are trying to hasten its decline.”

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However, the WHO has claimed on its website that there is “growing evidence” of risk from e-cigarettes.

It said: “It is difficult to generalize on the risk to health of e-cigarettes as compared with cigarettes or other tobacco products, as this is contingent on a range of factors.

“Both tobacco products ande-cigarettes pose risks to health.  The safest approach is not to use either.”

It added: “E-cigarette emissions typically contain nicotine and other toxic substances that are harmful to both users, and non-users who are exposed to the aerosols secondhand. Some products claiming to be nicotine-free have been found to contain nicotine.

“Evidence reveals that these products are harmful to health and are not safe. However, it is too early to provide a clear answer on the long-term impact of using them or being exposed to them.”

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir)  Haleeb Foods Limited the pioneer dairy and beverages processor in Pakistan arranged a blood donation drive at their Bhai Pheru Plant, in collaboration with Sundas Foundation. This partnership is a testament to HFL’s corporate social responsibility agenda. Sundas Foundation has been doing remarkable work for the treatment of patients suffering from Thalassemia, Haemophilia and Blood Cancer. As part of this campaign, HFL also donated milk and juice supplies for the underprivileged children in Sundas Foundation’s care.

Sharing his view on this collaboration the CEO, Haleeb Foods – Mr. Syed Mazher Iqbal said: “Haleeb Foods has always been at the forefront when it comes to supporting social causes. Through this collaboration we aim to encourage and actively take part in philanthropic activities for the betterment of the underprivileged.”

HFL, being a responsible corporate entity, has always shown strong dedication towards the well-being of the society and continues its support for Sundas Foundation in spreading awareness about thalassemia. The company has been catering to the nutritional needs of Pakistani people for decades and vows to continue to do so by providing quality dairy products.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir)  The World’s No. 1 brand, Durex Pakistan launches the first of its kind educational website for the Pakistani market. As part of the campaign, the brand has also released a public service message featuring renowned actor, Zahid Ahmed as its first Pakistani brand ambassador. With the website www.playsafe.com.pk, Durex aims to start a movement in the direction of being more open about  physical and emotional intimacy for married couples.
 
In reference to the launch, Marketing Director of Reckitt Pakistan, Humayun Farooq stated, “While launching Durex in Pakistan, there was something that became increasingly obvious to us over time; no one is talking about physical intimacy, nor do they want to. We recognized the reason went beyond just the unwillingness to speak about it. There is a lack of reliable knowledge and there is a huge prevalence of misinformation on the internet. With that in mind, we made it our mission to start the conversation and create a safe and reliable place where everyone could have access to correct, informed and reliable information about physical and emotional intimacy as well as our products and their uses.”
 
The website itself has material on a vast range of topics that not only help newly married couples, but also those who have been in their marriages for a longer period of time. It debunks common myths, answers FAQs on the matter as well as informs users about their wide product range and its uses.
 
Durex Pakistan’s first public service message features the brand’s first local brand ambassador Zahid Ahmed who aptly addresses the need for start the discourse around sex education. Ahmed, most notably known for his brilliant acting on television, has always been a representative of unspoken topics for the public.
 
“I commend Durex Pakistan for finally launching a platform where spouses can get reliable information to answer any and every question they might have about physical and emotional intimacy. This can help families across Pakistan in greatly reducing risks and diseases.” states Zahid Ahmed on the launch of www.playsafe.com.pk

After the initial launch, Durex Pakistan plans to continue to update the website, keeping all the information relevant and continuing the movement of breaking the stigma around the subject. The website will feature new information about products, more articles, videos, answer common FAQs and add bite-sized content on the matter.