Maryam launches children’s heart surgery programme

LAHORE: To save the lives of children with heart diseases, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz launched the Chief Minister’s Children Heart Surgery Program here on Monday.

She launched the program during her visit to the Children’s Hospital’a Cardiac Surgery Ward. She distributed Child Surgery Cards among the deserving patients under the Program. She said: “The operation of a sick child will be done in a private hospital if there is no place in government hospitals.” She inspected HDU and other departments of the hospital, and reviewed facilities available in the Cardiac Surgery Ward. She inquired about the well-being of young patients, gave them gifts and also played Ludo with them. She interacted with the children, and prayed: “May Allah grant you health, we all pray for you.” She also talked to parents of the sick children. She said: “It is my mission to free every citizen of Punjab, including children, from the system of queues and waiting. The number of specialist surgeons and allied staff will be increased to multiply the capacity of pediatric heart surgery in government hospitals.”

She said: “In the first phase, the pediatric heart surgery facility is being provided in six government and designated private hospitals including the PIC and the Children’s Hospital Lahore and Multan and Faisalabad and Rawalpindi Cardiology Institutes. In the second phase, facilities for paediatric heart surgery will be provided in the hospitals of Wazirabad, Dera Ghazi Khan, Bahawalpur and Sargodha.” She observed the dashboard developed to monitor the program.

She was briefed by authorities: “More than 5,000 young children die every year due to a lack of timely heart surgery.” Sha said: “In Pakistan’s first treatment centre for children, sick children from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and other provinces will also be treated.”

Meanwhile, addressing the Provincial Seerat-un-Nabi Conference, she said: “Love for the holy prophet (SAW) is nurtured in a mother’s lap. I appeal to parents, especially mothers, to tell their children the events related to the prophet’s (SAW) life before going to bed.

She said: “The foundation of the first charter of human rights was laid down by the holy prophet (SAW) in his sermon of ‘Hajjat-ul-Wida, and he taught these human rights at the first teaching place of Islam, Masjid-e-Nabawi. Khutba-e-Hajjat-ul-Wida is the first manifesto of humanity where the rights of every individual were defined. Respect for the weaker segments of the society including women has been underscored, and all kinds of discriminations have been prohibited therein. No one has given as much rights and respect to women as Islam. The rights which Allah has given to a woman are not found anywhere else. Islam has said that the best among you is the one who is best with his wife. When Hazrat Fatima (RA) used to visit the prophet (PBUH), he would stand up to receive her. It is a pity that if a daughter returns home when her marriage does not work out, she is taunted and considered a burden. On the contrary, if a girl returns home after divorce, her rights increase.”

Message: “Protection of the ozone layer is important for the survival of life on Earth,” she said in her message on the International Day for the Preservation of Ozone Layer. She lamented: “The ozone layer has been seriously damaged due to irresponsible anti-environmental activities of mankind. The damage to the ozone layer is causing environmental changes, diseases and other threats. The provincial cabinet has approved Punjab’s first comprehensive Climate Resilient Punjab Vision and Action Plan 2024 to ensure environmental protection. In the first comprehensive climate policy in the country’s history, an action plan has been prepared for the flood management, ecosystem infrastructure, food security, and heatwave.”

She underscored: “Green Cover, Biodiversity, Waste Management, Green Transport, Water Conservation and Departmental Action Plans are also included. We are also starting a solar panel program to ensure environmental protection and cheap electricity. Combating environmental changes to ensure a safe and stable environment is our collective responsibility. We will take all possible steps for climate protection and environmental improvement. Everyone should play his role in making the world safe and green.”