LAHORE: Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid said on Tuesday the Punjab government was setting up an institute to conduct research on genetic diseases. Addressing at a seminar on Thalassemia awareness, she stressed the need for pre-marriage thalassemia test, adding that law in this regard would soon be introduced to prevent the disease. The minister said: “I congratulate the organizers for holding a very important event on thalassemia awareness.” She said that awareness booklet had been prepared on the disease with joint efforts of Punjab Thalassemia Prevention Institute and University of Leeds (UK). She mentioned that the Punjab government was providing free of cost thalassemia tests.
Dr Yasmin said the purpose behind setting of the child health university to initiate research on paediatric diseases, adding that all medical universities had been asked to initiate research on thalassemia. She said the biggest challenge of 2021 was to curb corona and vaccinate maximum number of people. She asserted that the focus of corona prevention was on Non Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs) like use of masks and social distancing, etc. “I am proud to announce that we have vaccinated more than 60 percent population in Punjab”, adding that more than 65 million people have been vaccinated. The minister said that Punjab had not reported any polio case in last one year and very soon Pakistan would be a polio free country.
She said the Punjab recently conducted a very successful Measles & Rubella campaign during which nearly 49 million children were vaccinated, exceeding the target of 46 million covering migratory population as well. She added, “I congratulate the Expended Programme on Immunization (EPI) for successful completing the Measles & Rubella campaign. Under the EPI, children were vaccinated for 12 diseases, she informed. Dr Yasmin said that eight state-of-the-art mother & child hospitals were being set up in the province and a number of new hospitals including Mianwali, Nishter-2, DG Khan Cardiology Hospital and few others would be completed by the start of 2023. Punjab Thalassemia Prevention Institute Director General Dr Hussain Jaffery, University of Leeds (UK) representative Dr Shahnaz, Dr Yasmin Ihsan, Monim Khan, Syed Adnan Jamil, Dr Mushtaq and children having thalassemia as well as their parents attended the seminar.