Thalassaemia treatment centres to be established: Dr Yasmin Rashid

By Our correspondent

LAHORE : Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid has said thalassaemia is a priority health area for the Punjab government and the government is already working on establishing treatment centres at all the district level hospitals of the province. “Moreover, thalassaemia is a preventable disease and our hope lies in adopting a preventive programme on the line pursued by the countries like Italy, Cyprus and Iran, which has resulted in either complete control or significant reduction in the births of new thalassaemia major children in these countries,” said the provincial health minister while addressing a national webinar organised by the Thalassaemia Federation of Pakistan (TFP) to commemorate International Thalassaemia Day on Saturday.

Considering the gravity of the issue, the Punjab government took lead and initiated Punjab Thalassaemia Prevention Project (PTPP) which is unique and can be compared with any other preventive programme of the world, she said. The government under the leadership of Imran Khan is committed to providing the best of the medical services to the people of the country, she said. She stated that the theme of this year’s International Thalassaemia Day is “Addressing Health Inequalities across the Global Thalassaemia Community.”

Although there has been significant progress in management and prevention of thalassaemia, however, there is still disparity between the services provided in urban and rural areas. Dr Yasmin said that she would work towards getting COVID-19 vaccination for adult thalaasemia patients. She also promised to organise a meeting of TFP member NGOs with the President of Pakistan to discuss a comprehensive solution and strategy to improve treatment and prevention services with regard to thalassaemia in the country.

Gen (retd) Moin ud Din Haider, TFP president, highlight the significant contribution of the NGO to improving the services provided to thalassaemia patients and their families in the country.

Dr Hussain Jafri said that thalassaemia is the commonest inherited disorder in Pakistan. Over 6,000 children affected with thalassaemia major are born annually, meaning 17 affected children are born each day in Pakistan. He said that psychosocial interventions play a very important role in prevention of genetic disorders.

Dr Jafri presented on an international research to develop a decision-making intervention tool for thalassaemia families so that they could make decision related to thalassaemia screening of their extended family members.

Others speakers included Dr Jovaria Mannan, Gen (retd) Dr Suhaib Ahmed and a thalassaemia patient, Shah Bano.

The International Thalassaemia Day was commemorated all over the world, including Pakistan, on Saturday to raise awareness among general public, healthcare provider and decision makers to improve the lives and wellbeing of thalassaemia patients all over the world.