First Lady Begum Samina Arif Alvi on Saturday underlined the need to initiate programmes for women which have positive impacts on their physical and mental health.
She made these remarks while addressing the launching ceremony of Ascend Athletics Pakistan, President Secretariat Press Wing said in a press release.
Samina Alvi said that women constituted almost 50% of the country’s population, therefore, it was imperative that they were provided with quality healthcare services in a timely and cost-effective manner.
She observed that ensuring women’s health was not only pivotal for Pakistan’s development, but was also vital for ensuring the health and prosperity of a family.
The event was attended by the Minister of Tourism of Gilgit-Baltistan, Raja Nasir Ali Khan Maqpoon, US Ambassador to Pakistan, Donald Bloom, Air Chief Marshal (retd) Sohail Aman, CEO & Founder of Ascend, Marina LeGree, renowned mountaineers and climbers of Pakistan, and members of the general public.
Addressing the ceremony, the first lady expressed the hope that the programme would have a positive impact on women’s health, besides enabling girls to become useful and active citizens of the society.
Begum Alvi also emphasized the need of taking effective steps to overcome the issue of stunting and malnutrition in women, adding that due to devastating floods in Pakistan, the problem of malnutrition and stunting in women and children in flood-affected areas had become even more severe. She called for taking strong measures to fulfil the needs of women in flood affected areas.
Begum Samina Alvi also highlighted that the breast cancer awareness campaign was yielding results as the number of breast cancer cases being detected in early stages was on the rise.
She urged the woman to take out 5 minutes every month for physical self-examination and in case of any lump, redness or swelling or any unusual change in the chest or its surrounding areas, they should consult a doctor immediately to save precious lives.
