Our Correspondent
Sargodha
Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid has launched the largest-ever programme for health of school children under the Chief Minister’s School Health and Nutrition Programme. A ceremony in this regard was held at the Government Higher Secondary School Jeevan Gondal, Sargodha on Saturday.
Under the Programme, in the first phase, health and nutrition status of more than 50,000 public school children across the province would be examined. Children requiring further screening would be provided diagnosis and treatment through the Mobile Health Units and government facilities. Dr Yasmin Rashid said that the programme had been launched under special directives by Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar.
The ceremony was attended by Provincial Minister for School Education Murad Raas, Provincial Minister for Labour, Ansar Majeed Khan, Secretary Primary Secondary Healthcare Captain (retd) Usman Younas, MPA Iftikhar Hussain and Deputy Commissioner Sargodha. Dr Yasmin said that this year, the project was piloted at the Central Model School in Lahore. It was later expanded to 11 schools of Lahore and it had now been scaled up to the entire province.
The Mobile Health Units had been provided to nine divisional headquarters in the province. These were equipped with X-Ray and ultrasound machines, blood screening facilities as well as doctors and specialists, she added.
She said the School Health Nutrition Supervisor would conduct a thorough medical examination of children and assess their physical and nutrition status. In the next phase, she said the medical checkup of students of private schools would be conducted whereas in the third phase, proper nutrition arrangements would be made for students. She said that in the next two years, record of all children would be computerized and cards would be given to every student.
