Thalassemia Prevention Act to be presented in PA soon

LAHORE : The Punjab Thalassemia Prevention Act 2025 is being presented in the Punjab Assembly for approval soon. We will have to take effective measures to stop the spread of thalassemia in Pakistan.

Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique expressed these views while presiding over an important meeting regarding the Punjab Thalassemia Prevention Act 2025 in the Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Department on Saturday.

The meeting was attended by Parliamentary Secretary Rushda Lodhi, MPA and Chairman Public Accounts Committee Syed Ali Haider Gilani and MPA and Chairman Punjab Women Protection Authority Hina Pervaiz Butt, Additional Secretary Technical Dr M Waseem, Director Punjab Blood Transfusion Authority Prof Shabnam and DG Thalassemia Prevention Prof Yasmin Ehsan.

Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique and the members reviewed the various features of the Punjab Thalassemia Prevention Act 2025 in detail during the meeting.

Khawaja Salman said Iran and other Muslim countries have taken long-term measures in this regard. We will have to run a strong campaign to prevent thalassemia in the society.

Ali Haider Gilani said on this occasion that a child suffering from thalassemia as well as his parents have to go through a lot of pain. The School Education Department has also been mobilised to include thalassemia prevention subjects in the curriculum.

Rushda Lodhi said on this occasion that all stakeholders will have to play their role to make Pakistan thalassemia free. The Punjab government has prepared a comprehensive programme for counseling regarding thalassemia.

Hina Pervez Butt said on this occasion that a milestone will be reached with the approval of the Punjab Thalassemia Prevention Act 2025 by the Punjab Assembly. The Punjab government will continue to take fundamental steps to cleanse the society of the scourge of thalassemia.

Meanwhile, Provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique attended the second convocation of Central Park Medical College as the chief guest. Provincial Minister for Labour, Youth Affairs and Sports Faisal Ayub Khokhar was also present on the occasion.

The convocation was attended by Mian Tahir Javed, Chairman Board of Trustees, Dr M Abbas, Controller of Examination, University of Health Sciences, Prof Asif Abbas Naqvi, Prof M Amir Mian, Principal Central Park Medical College, graduates, parents and a large number of students.

173 out of 600 of the six MBBS batches of Central Park Medical College 2017-2023 were awarded degrees in the convocation. Khawaja Salman congratulated all the successful students and their parents. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz is promoting medical education according to her vision. We appreciate the role of young doctors in the health sector, he added.

He added the Punjab government is taking all possible steps to improve the quality of medical education. A developed society is built on the pillars of education and health. Providing the best health facilities to the people is the basic responsibility of the state. Asia's largest Nawaz Sharif Institute of Cancer Treatment and Research is being built in Lahore and state-of-the-art Nawaz Sharif Institutes of Cardiology are being built in Lahore and Sargodha.

Modern research is being promoted in government medical schools of Punjab. The quality of education is also improving in private medical educational institutions, he added.