Caretaker Minister Health, Sindh, Dr. Saad Niaz met with National Committee for Maternal and Neonatal Health (NCMNH). Secretary Health, Mr. Sohail Qureshi, Dr. Sadia Ahsan Pal, Dr. Azra Ahsan and Dr. Marium Waqas attended the meeting.
Bakhabar Noujawan is a platform to gain knowledge about various life matters that any individual might encounter. This online course aims to empower one to make informed choices for ones health and well-being as well as be more knowledgeable about the community.
NCMNH has completed 25 years and the committee Association for Mothers and Newborns (AMAN) and NCMNH created the platform of Bakhabar Noujawan.
The meeting was informed that this online course has 26 modules that increases awareness in age groups between 15 to 35 whereby they can learn and test their knowledge on topics such as family planning, child labour, child marriage, emergency contraceptives, cervical cancer, vaccination, Pap smears etc.
Caretaker Minister Health, Sindh, Dr. Saad Niaz also suggested that this course should be made mandatory in medical schools first and foremost as the healthcare providers should be made aware of these topics before prescribing this online course to anyone else. Dr Azra Ahsan added that this course has been working in KP and that the project would like to be supported by the Sindh Government. In this regard it was to be endorsed by the Sindh Government logo and in collaboration with WHO, they wanted to translate the Bakhabar Noujawan online course into Urdu and Sindhi as well.
Dr. Sadia Pal mentioned that this online course has been approved by the Federal Government and that NADRA would be offering certification upon completion of this online course.
The meeting discussed the rate of maternal and child death in the province and that the quality of care being provided in healthcare facilities is not up to standard. Postpartum hemorrhage is the number one cause of maternal death and it’s guidelines are widely available so healthcare providers should be well versed in them yet this is not the case.
Well Womens Clinic will be catering to women by women healthcare providers and treating as well as giving awareness on issues such as breast cancer, family planning, reproductive health etc.
Dr Saad Niaz concluded lastly that Health Facilities should have LEDs that play messages in regional languages that target family planning,screening for different types of diseases, nutrition, breast cancer and more.
Importantly this course is not just for men or women but every teen and adult who wishes to gain basic understandings about life.
