Sargodha:An awareness seminar on ‘Thalassemia-Free Pakistan’ was organized at Rai Medical College Sargodha with the collaboration of the National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) Sargodha, Child Protection and Welfare Bureau, Sargodha Police, Give Life Foundation, Hilal-e-Ahmar Hospital and Rai Medical College here on Wednesday.
Deputy Director NCHD Sargodha Mehr Umar Draz Jhawari, Principal Rai Medical College Prof Dr Zahid Masood, District Officer Child Protection and Welfare Bureau Syed Ali Abid Naqvi, Dr Khawaja Muhammad Arshad, Assistant Director Education NCHD Asif Ali Tarrar, Assistant Director Hilal-e-Ahmar Hospital Dr Mustansar Raza, Chairman Give Life Foundation Muhammad Usman Haseeb, NCHD field officers, faculty members, doctors and a large number of students attended the seminar.
Speaking at the seminar, Dr Khawaja Muhammad Arshad said thalassemia was an inherited genetic disorder affecting haemoglobin and red blood cells and required lifelong monitoring and treatment. He explained that defective haemoglobin genes inherited from one or both parents could result in production of abnormal haemoglobin, reducing the blood’s ability to carry oxygen and leading to anaemia and associated complications.
Mehr Umar Draz Jhawari said NCHD was working at the grassroots level across the country in the fields of basic education, primary healthcare, social welfare and human development. He said NCHD Sargodha, in collaboration with the Health Department and welfare organizations, was organizing awareness seminars to educate the public about diagnosis, treatment and preventive measures against thalassemia.
He said the high prevalence of thalassemia in Pakistan was linked to several factors, including lack of awareness, limited access to screening and treatment, and a high prevalence of marriages among close relatives, which could increase the risk of thalassemia and other genetic disorders.
Muhammad Usman Haseeb said efforts were being made to address the prevalence of thalassemia in Pakistan through increased awareness, promotion of premarital screening and counselling, and improved access to screening and treatment services. He called for greater investment in prevention, screening and treatment programmes.
Dr Mustansar Raza stressed the importance of timely diagnosis and preventive measures, saying premarital thalassemia screening for both men and women could help protect future generations from the disease. He said prevention could save patients and their families from considerable emotional and psychological distress.