Category: Health

LAHORE – Provincial Minister for Population Welfare and Environment Protection Begum Zakia Shahnawaz has said that the government is taking all measures to comply the international environmental standards, rules and regulations as it could give immense benefits to the economy besides controlling huge number of demises caused by the pollution. She expressed these remarks during a seminar on “Environment of Success – Not Cost but Opportunity”, jointly organised by the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Punjab Environment Protection Department and World Wildlife Fund, here at the Lahore chamber. “We don’t want to tease you, we want to take business community on board with due honour and respect to evolve a joint strategy to cope with the environmental challenges”, the minister said. She said that compliance to environmental standards is a prerequisite to do business with the developed world therefore the Environment Department is working tirelessly to educate the business community on these standards.

LAHORE  –  Mortein has introduced innovative mosquito-killer boards to reduce the incidence of dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases in Pakistan. The killer-boards are capable of killing several species of Aedes mosquitoes every day. The initiative is in continuance of their ‘Dengue Se Paak Pakistan’ campaign aimed at reducing dengue along with other mosquito-borne diseases across Pakistan. In the past 6 years, Pakistan has witnessed massive outbreaks of dengue with over 65,000 cases reported nationwide. In 2016 alone, 3,000 cases were reported in Punjab, while Sindh accounted for over 2,000 cases of dengue victims.
Most of the cases originated from semi-urban areas and major metropolitan cities while unplanned settlements and rural areas equally fell prey to the consequences of the disease.
Shahzeb Mahmood, CEO of RB Pakistan, makers of Mortein, stated in this regard, “RB is always committed to providing innovative solutions to improve the health and hygiene situation in the country. Currently, there is high incidence of mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue. These mosquito-killing billboards are yet another testament to our pledge for a dengue-free Pakistan.”

Lahore – Zong 4G volunteers under its Employee Volunteers Programme, A New Hope, visited Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences and spent quality time with young thalassemia patients on otherday. The activity was carefully planned and brought happiness and joy to these young patients. The Zong 4G team visited multiple medical wards at the hospital to share their excitement with the hospital staff as well as the patients. It was a moment of extreme joy for the children’s parents who were also present at the hospital to witness this activity for their children.

The young children enjoyed multiple gifts which were brought by the Zong volunteers. It was a small but valuable gesture from the organization to show that it cares and has a strong focus on its corporate social responsibility towards the local society. In the recent months, the organization has stepped up its social presence in areas of law and order, education, social reforms and multiple health care initiatives to add value to the local society.

Lahore – Greenstar Social Marketing (Greenstar), an independent network member of Population Services International, collaborated with South Asian Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (SAFOG) for the 11thSAFOG Conference. The theme for the three day conference, taking place in Lahore, is ‘Improving Women’s Health – Old Problems, New Remedies.’
On behalf of Greenstar, Professor Sir Sabaratnum Arulkumaran, former president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, and president-elect of the British Medical Association hosted the plenary session on ‘South Asia’s run to improve contraceptive prevalence rate’.
While Dr. Syed Aziz ur Rab, CEO – Greenstar, conducted a workshop on ‘Counselling and Medical Communication Skills’.
Speaking about this biennial conference, Dr. Syed Aziz ur Rab, said, “It is an honor to be a partner for the 11thSAFOG Conference as it ensures learning and skill development of our network Health Providers, since their skills and motivation are crucial to serving the women in Pakistan.”
“This conference is about collaborative education and competency based training for the care of women in South Asia,” said Professor Rubina Sohail, Chair – Organizing Committee of SAFOG. “We not only aim to create a conducive learning environment for young medical practitioners, but also look to share global knowledge, while making new friends in the process.”
“On behalf of SAFOG, I would like to thank all our collaborators who have worked extremely hard to make this conference a success,” she further added. “Special mention goes to Greenstar, UNICEF, UNFPA, IPAS, LIFE, Aman Foundation and Aspire.”
The SAFOG Conference is held once every 2 years in association with the Obstetrics and Gynaecology society of the country hosting it.
The initial objective of this initiative by SAFOG is to provide a platform for interaction and exchange of ideas including common problems and unique solutions each country had to offer for the betterment of women’s health.
This year’s conference will see participation from over 2,000 delegates from Pakistan, the South Asian region and other parts of the world.
While special training sessions will be conducted throughout the three days for midwives and trainees of Obstetrics & Gynecology with international experts providing attendees with on the spot counseling regarding the latest remedies to women’s health, and to clear any delusions regarding modern remedies for old health problems.

Karachi –  “Following our vision of ‘innovation’, we are launching the next generation of antimicrobial water pipes in Pakistan. These pipes have been manufactured by using world’s latest D2P revolutionary technology, used for the very first time in the plastic pipe industry of Pakistan in collaboration with Business Dynamics. The purpose is to provide clean and safe water to the people of Pakistan”.  These thoughts were expressed by Mr. Qazi Sajid Ali, CEO & Director Dadex at the launching ceremony of Dadex Antimicrobial Water Pipes held at a local hotel, today.

Mr. Qazi further elaborated that Dadex continues to be the pioneer in the industry by offering superior products. The new Dadex d2p range of pipes is particularly suitable for water treatment plants, schools, hospitals, food processing factories, pharmaceutical industry and water supply systems. “Dadex being the market leader and trend setter in piping industry of Pakistan is committed to water conservation as well as the supply of safe water for the health & well-being of people”, he added.

Mr. Danish Dada CEO International Division Dadex, said that for the last 57 years Dadex has been developing innovative technology for the benefit of its customers and the people of Pakistan. Their strength lies in pre-empting the expectations of the people and product demands. The new Microbial contamination build up in water distribution pipes pose a direct risk to Pakistani public health because of water borne diseases. This new product will certainly help in improving the health standards of general public.

Describing the technical side of the product, Mr. Radu Baciu, Director of Technical, Symphony Environmental Group said that the new antimicrobial pipes contain state of the art d2p Antimicrobial technology, developed by Symphony Environmental Ltd. U.K which provides long lasting protection against ‘Bacteria, Fungi and Algae’. Dadex d2p antimicrobial pipes are an innovative solution which will definitely grasp the market as it provides maximum protection for health and against water borne diseases.

On this occasion, Mr. Amir Younis, Managing Director ‘Business Dynamics’ explained the importance of antimicrobial pipes and  said that ‘Microbes’, which survive in water distribution systems have the ability to multiply and produce an unpleasant surface deposit of microorganisms called ‘biofilm’ inside pipes, and to attack the pipes themselves. It induces many problems in water like; change in color, odor, taste and turbidity, blockage of pipes and inefficacy of disinfection treatment.

Karachi- Enduring the promise to better the lives of host communities of Tharparkar, Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) has engaged a highly reputable philanthropic health service provider, the Indus Hospital to take functioning of its on-site free Mother and Child Clinic situated in Thar Coal Block II. SECMC has entered an agreement with The Indus Hospital on Tuesday which was signed by SECMC CEO, Mr. Shamsuddin Shaikh and Indus Hospital’s CEO, Dr. Abdul Bari at a simple ceremony. The Indus hospital will manage the entire operations of the Clinic under their own management by providing necessary and quality healthcare facilities and services.

Given the high Maternal Mortality Rate and Infant Mortality Rate in Tharparkar region, the Clinic was initiated in June 2015 by SECMC initiated as Marvi Mother and Child Health Clinic at its centrally located Site Office. Several local community members are involved in the running of the weekly clinic, whilst dispensary staff from a local pharmacy in Islamkot has been engaged. The clinic also provides medicines free of cost to females and children.

Briefing about the venture, Mr. Shamsuddin Shaikh said, the health facility is fully equipped with a specialized female gynecologist, a qualified nurse, provision of an ultrasound machine, Gynae/Ops related medical checkup, free of cost medical consultation services and provision of free medicines. Total number of patients to date at the clinic has been around 6,000. He said, that the clinic has been one of our success stories in providing better health care facilities to the people of Block II and surrounding areas.

He was of the view that provision of quality health care and education related services has been one of the top priorities of SECMC since the advent of the Thar Coal Project.

“It will always be the Company’s foremost priority to safeguard and improve the quality of life of its local communities so they may benefit from development rather than be hindered by it,” he added. He hoped that the new endeavor will take off on a larger scale with the help of top notch medical expertise of the Indus hospital and its management.

Dr. Abdul Bari also expressed his thoughts saying that it has been our mission to provide free of cost health care to under privileged areas.

“Starting operations in Thar with the help of SECMC is the break of a new dawn for the future of not only Sindh but Pakistan overall,” he said.“Indus Hospital will be taking charge to manage daily operations at the clinic following this agreement. In addition to this, Indus Hospital will be constructing a larger 100-bed hospital in the Islamkot Taluka in the coming months so that the people of this area have a proper healthcare facility to their disposal,” said Dr. Bari.

It is pertinent to mention that the socio-economic conditions of Thar Coal Block II is no different to the overall poor human conditions in district Tharparkar. For total population of 9,000 of 8 villages access to the nearest free of cost health care facility is around 80 kilometers away – thus making access to immediate care exceptionally challenging.

LAHORE –  The biggest food festival ‘Lahore Eat’ is all set to begin on February 10, 2017 and last till February 12, 2017 in Jillani Park, Jail Road, Lahore.

Organised by the talented trio Sara Chapra, Aslam Khan, and Omar Omari, this food festival is built around the idea of creating a common platform for people who love food.

Following the dates, Jillani Park will transform into a foodie’s wonderland for three days full of eating, drinking, and entertainment. From the most creative and talented chefs to local street vendors, Lahore Eat is a festival that celebrates diversity of food that this city has to offer.

Beautifully adorned with lights and tempting almost 100 kiosks of local street food, home operated food joints, and restaurants, Lahore Eat will again attract thousands of food lovers towards the magic of food and nonstop fun. With exotic experience of live cooking, Lahore eat 2017 will also offer new culinary experience of Thai, Mexican, Chinese, Italian and, Desi food dishes.

Karachi – Rupali Foods is proud to announce the launch of its newest brand, Whistlez, which is the realization of our commitment to our consumers. This brand stands for quality in everything that we do and all that we hope to achieve. And whatever we do, we do it for a reason – to give added value in terms of taste, hygiene, recipe and affordability.
Whistlez aims to deliver fun-filled moments with a whole range of mesmerizingly delicious biscuits; biscuits that brighten up your life, and refresh it altogether. Our products are made for those who live their life to the fullest; people who are the heart of all parties, and who are always ready to try something new every day. This is evident from the brand tagline, “Chalo Pehl Karein!” which is a call for action for everyone to take the first step into a whole new world of excitement and fun. Novelty and innovation is right at the heart of our mission: we’re always looking for novel ways of giving customers a new treat to enjoy every single day by ensuring that when they choose Whistlez as their preferred snacking option, they get the real taste, hygiene and quality they truly deserve.
Whistlez Biscuits come in 6 amazing flavours, from the ever popular Peanut Cookies and Butter Cookies, children’s favourite Jolly Jam Sandwiches and Milk+ Biscuits, to new variations of traditional tastes in the form of Suji Cookies and Cake Rusks, so that customers can experience pure joy with great taste that they won’t be forgetting any time soon.

Web Desk – WASHINGTON/TORONTO: Restaurant chains Burger King and Tim Hortons plan to switch to chicken raised without antibiotics considered “critically important” to human medicine, their owner said on Wednesday, making it the latest company to ditch the drugs over health concerns.

Restaurant Brands International Inc, which owns both chains, said it aims to make the change in U.S. stores in 2017 and in Canada in 2018.

An estimated 70 percent of antibiotics that are important to fighting human infections and ensuring the safety of invasive procedures such as surgeries are sold for use in meat and dairy production.

Concern has been growing among scientists, public health experts, consumers and shareholders that the overuse of such drugs is contributing to rising numbers of life-threatening human infections from antibiotic-resistant bacteria dubbed “superbugs.”

“We believe that it is important to reduce the use of antibiotics important for human medicine in order to preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics in both veterinary and human medicine,” Restaurant Brands said.

The company did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that at least 2 million people in the United States are infected with drug-resistant bacteria each year and that 23,000 die as a direct result.

Officials with health advocacy group As You Sow said they have been working with Restaurant Brands on its antibiotics policy for more than a year. In February, the group withdrew a shareholder proposal calling on the company to develop a stricter policy after Restaurant Brands agreed to address the issue before the end of 2016.

Austin Wilson, environmental health program manager for As You Sow, said the company’s new plan represented progress. Still, he said it was “disappointing, since it is weaker than the standards set in the last year or two by Tyson, McDonald’s and Wendy’s.”

McDonald’s Corp has already removed all antibiotics important to human medicine from its U.S. chicken supply chain, and Wendy’s Co said in August it would quit using chickens raised with antibiotics important to human health by 2017.

Tyson Foods Inc, the biggest U.S. chicken processor, has said it intends to stop using all antibiotics important to human medicine to raise its chickens in 2017.

Restaurant Brands is only eliminating drugs that are “the most critical in human medicine” from its supply, Wilson said.

Yum Brands Inc’s KFC stands out as the last major chicken chain to make a move on curbing antibiotic use.

KFC has far more restaurants than any other fast-food chicken chain and is second in sales behind Chick-fil-A, which has committed to finishing its switch to chicken raised without any antibiotics by the end of 2019.

As You Sow has filed a shareholder proposal requesting that Yum phase out harmful antibiotics from its meat supply in a bid to prompt changes at KFC.