| May 11, 2008 | Sunday | Jamadi-ul-Awwal 5, 1429 |
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Carrying the legacy of dictators
Better deal for senior citizens
Task force for new health policy
Poor country, rich rulers
Organ trade
Use of kaolin in toothpaste
Rental ceiling
Two-day weekly holiday
Reforming curriculum
Readers are requested to restrict their comments to a maximum of 400 words. We reserve the right to edit letters for reasons of clarity and space. Letters, including those by e-mail, should carry the complete postal address of the sender. The views expressed in these columns do not necessarily reflect the views of the newspaper.—Editor
MOTHER’s Day is being observed throughout the world. It falls on the second Sunday of every May. It is the result of a campaign by Anna Marie Jarvis (1864-1948) who, following the death of her mother on May 9, 1905, devoted her life to establishing Mother’s Day as a national, and later an international, holiday.
Basically Mother’s Day is a day honoring mothers, it is the one day out of the year when children, young and old, try to show in a tangible way how much they appreciate their mothers. But particularly in Pakistan and other developing countries mother’s miseries are increasing day by day.
Statistics say that over 380 women become pregnant every minute. Nearly every 60 seconds one woman dies from the complications of pregnancy and childbirth. More than 500,000 women die each year and 99 per cent of these deaths occur in the developing world.
Maternal mortality varies widely in the world’s regions; Maternal mortality ratio (MMR) is the ratio of the number of maternal deaths. The high rates of maternal deaths occur in the same countries that have a high rate of infant mortality, which reflects generally poor nutrition and medical care. Many women in Pakistan give birth to an average of five children by the time they are in their mid-20s.
Due to illiteracy and lack of awareness about their own bodies, at times they themselves refuse to see the doctor and, at times, it is under family pressure that they refrain from reporting their gynecological problems. They rely on self-medication or on the advice and prescriptions of local pharmacists or chemists, which only makes matters worse for them.
As a result, the MMR in Pakistan is 940 per 100,000 births. Every year around eight million women in the world suffer from pregnancy-related complications and over half a million mothers die. In developing countries one woman in 16 dies from pregnancy-related complications compared to one in 2,800 in developed countries.
In Pakistan 16,500 women die each year due to complications of pregnancy and childbirth and 40,000 infants die in their first year of life.
It’s deplorable that in many districts of Sindh province where the government is unable to provide maternal facilities to women, particularly in the coastal belt of Sindh where maternal mortality death ratio is very high as compared to the rest of the country.
Maternal mortality is also misclassified, because health workers may not know why a woman died, or whether she was or had recently been pregnant. Deaths are sometimes intentionally misclassified.
In this regard the government should provide training about essential emergency obstetric care and life-saving skills to village midwives, community health centre midwives and paramedics who are likely to attend to births.
Community-based information and education efforts should emphasise the potential risk of the obstetric complications for all pregnant women and the need for individuals and family members to recognise danger signs.
It is obvious that the primary cause of delay in obtaining adequate care is failure to recognise the danger signs or the tendency to seek treatment from traditional healers whose methods are of little or no efficiency and in many cases may exacerbate a bad situation.
The key to overcoming this situation is to educate the community to understand the risk and danger signs to pregnancy and delivery, and to mobilise them to obtain appropriate care more quickly.
Every one of us should take care and respect our mothers. I may also pay rich tribute on this day to the late PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto, a mother, who has sacrificed her life for the cause of democracy so that her children and the children of the country and the future generation and all of us can breathe in fresh air of democratic life. I would rather suggest that on the national level this day should be attributed to her as a mother.
HUMERA ALWANI
MPA, Thatta
YOUR editorial, ‘Harking back to Zia days’ ( April 26), is a timely reminder for those who desire democracy, and those who talk democracy in this country.
Quoting Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani’s speech at the reception he gave for the army commanders where he said that the “army has to defend the ideological boundaries along with the geographical boundaries,” you have rightly said that “.. the Feb 18 vote was clearly in favour of moderate parties, none of which garnered votes on the forgotten ideology issue”.
The only addition needed is that Feb 18 was not the only time when the people of this country have expressed their will clearly and candidly. Whenever got chance, they have voted/supported moderate, liberal and democrat-looking parties and politicians with a clear message for change. But alas! whenever got chance (to come to power), these politicians have turned their back on people’s mandate for change and, instead, aligned themselves with the forces of status quo.
Out of political expediency and in pursuit of absolute power, they have compromised with, indeed invited, the religious elements and the military men and have strengthened and enhanced the role of these two powerful forces of status quo into the state affairs.
While going for Pakistan, the Muslims of the subcontinent gathered around the moderate leadership of the Muslim League like M. A. Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan. But immediately after the creation of Pakistan, the military force was used to settle political problems and the ‘Objective Resolution’ was passed by the moderate parliament wherein it was said that “.. the sovereignty lies with God” while all over the world in democratic, as well as in socialist, countries it was recognised that “the sovereignty lies with people”.
Since this Objective Resolution has been ‘thankfully’ used (and abused) by the dictators to their advantage, Ayub Khan, Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf, all are on record having said that “since the sovereignty lies with God, so He has chosen me to rule over you”.
In the first general election of 1970, the people of (current) Pakistan voted for another moderate and even progressive-looking politician, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Once in power, he strengthened military institutions and used them to weaken, and even destroy, political institutions. Also he was the first to take credit for amending the Constitution to declare a section of the Muslims of Pakistan (Qadianis) as non-Muslims and for bringing many laws of ‘religious’ nature onto the statute book.
Benazir Bhutto came to power at the head of a hard-fought ‘movement for restoration of democracy’ against the military dictatorship of Gen Zia. She conferred ‘award of democracy’ on the military and made ‘maulvi’ Fazlur Rahman chairman of foreign relations committee. In her first tenure ‘the Mujahideen’ were facilitated to form their government-in-exile at Islamabad while during her second stint ‘the Taliban’ were helped in capturing Kandhar. Then came Nawaz Sharif’s turn. Taking full advantage of two-thirds majority in parliament, he tried to make ‘Islamic Shariah’ the law of the land and declare himself ‘the Ameer’. Also it was he who handed over, one by one, civilian departments of the state to the army-men.
Only time will tell who does what this time but, as mentioned in your editorial, the initial signs are not encouraging.
ABDUL KHALIQUE JUNEJO
Karachi
ONE of the foremost duties of an Islamic state is to provide ‘adl’ (equality) and ‘insaf’ (justice). The long overdue legislation and administrative procedures need urgent attention to give relief and respect to those elderly citizens who have contributed the best years of their lives towards familial and national goals. However, from time to time their grievances have been overlooked and only lip-service has been offered.
With change in government it is hoped some of the following measures will be given urgent attention:
i. The disparity between old and new pensioners, namely pre- and post-1986 retirees, must be removed. There was a presidential directive in 1989 to this effect as the Wafaqi Mohtasib’s recommendation to redress the disparity as it was against Articles 25 and 38 of the Constitution.
ii. Rail, bus and air fares should be reduced to 50 per cent for those above 60 years on production of ID cards.
iii. Property tax exemption on one self-occupied residence by retired government servants or their widows and also of those serving in autonomous bodies. This should be applied uniformly in urban and Cantonment areas.
iv. Exemptions in car token tax, licence fees and concessions in utility bills.
v. Ramps for elderly and disabled in public offices, banks, hospitals, etc, and special seats in public transports.
vi. Inclusion of senior citizens in advisory boards to avail their expertise in professional capacities.
vii. Residential facilities for underprivileged senior citizens and also subsidised accommodation and club houses and recreational facilities for elderly.
PROF (DR) RAFIA HASAN
Lahore
THIS is apropos of the news item, ‘Task force for new health policy’ (May 1). A 24-member task force headed by Health Minister Sherry Rehman has been set up to prepare a new health policy in view of the challenges in the public health sector, with special focus on prevention, improvement of medical education and expansion of the lady health workers’ programme, in accordance with the PPP’s manifesto.
However, while constituting the task force, medical men from all walks of life have been included except the nursing profession, the largest force in the hospitals. Many of our nurses are highly qualified and they constitute an important professional group of women in the country.
They include former top officials of the Pakistan Nursing Federation and the Pakistan Nursing Council, who have worked at the federal level and effectively participated in the development of health policies.
They are well-versed in the healthcare system and possess the core skills required in policy-making. Including some of these highly skilled nursing professionals in the proposed task force for health policy-making will strengthen the task force, particularly with respect to the lady health workers programme.
PROF( DR) YASIN DURRANI
Islamabad
Twenty-five per cent of the population of Pakistan is living below the poverty line. It is a terrible fact as accepted by the prime minister in one of his speeches at Multan on May 4.
Pakistan is under billions of dollars of foreign debt which is increasing every day. This poor country is also facing a severe energy crisis. Prices are skyrocketing.
In the same country a huge public money is spent on the maintenance of big houses. Starting from Prime Minister’s House, governors’ houses and houses of other senior officials are spread over acres of land.
The residences of senior bureaucrats are symbols of luxury. A huge labour force is deputed for the maintenance of these houses at the expense of the people.
The Punjab government has already taken a commendable step by converting the luxurious and huge building of the chief minister’s secretariat into IT University for Women. We should keep ground realities in mind and dispose of these big houses through public auction.
TEHREEM CHAUDHRY
Multan
THE May 9 issue of Dawn reported (‘Transplant of human organs not violative of Islam’, by Amin Ahmed) the proceedings of a recent conference held in Rawalpindi in which participants included both ulema and physicians. In this regard I would like to bring to the attention of your readers the following points:
Although it was heartening to read that the ulema present ‘unanimously announced’ that human organ transplantation is permitted under Islamic principles, the fact that this is occurring in 2008 is quite disappointing. This issue has been discussed on multiple occasions by leading fuqaha and ulema starting as far back as the early 1980s.
The ulema participants also seemed unaware of the consensus fatwa delivered 20 years ago, in February 1988, following the Fourth International Conference of Islamic Jurists held in Jeddah (Resolution No. 1). That fatwa states clearly that voluntary living and deceased human organ donations are permissible in Sharia, rejects organ commerce and trafficking, and emphasises that organs be donated altruistically.
Some of the opinions expressed at the Rawalpindi conference should set off alarm bells in the minds of those battling organ trafficking. There have been several reports recently about violations of the explicit prohibition by the Human Organ and Tissue Transplant Ordinance, 2007, of organ commerce and tourism in the country.
Hospitals in Lahore and Rawalpindi are currently being investigated for transplanting foreigners from Kuwait with kidneys bought from Pakistanis. In this background, the suggestion by a participant that the “government should find a solution instead of putting a ban on trade of organs” is astounding, if not bizarre. But then perhaps he does not share our national shame at being known as the ‘kidney bazaar’ of the world.
Drs Adib Rizvi, Anwar Naqvi and I have just returned from a summit held in Istanbul on Organ Trafficking, Tourism, and Commerce. There were 160 delegates present from 78 countries around the world, and 20 international associations were represented. Pakistan was lauded for the introduction of the Ordinance 2007.
The consensus Istanbul Summit Declaration, soon to be available, will clearly denounce all forms of organ commerce as unethical and exploitative, and will include strong recommendations for all governments to ensure that they have appropriate transplant laws which they enforce.
We do need to increase the number of kidneys available for transplantation into our citizens, but we do not have to reinvent the (unethical) wheel to find a solution.
There is convincing evidence that the solution lies in removing disincentives for voluntary, altruistic donations, and in taking all the necessary steps to set up deceased donor programmes. Solutions for overcoming the shortage of transplantable organs must not rest on kidneys bought from the impoverished, and the welfare of donors must never be sacrificed to benefit recipients.
FARHAT MOAZAM
Professor and Chairperson,
Centre of Biomedical Ethics and Culture, SIUT, Karachi
APROPOS of the news report (March 12), the health ministry’s drugs registration board has cancelled registration of anti-diarrhoeal drugs containing kaolin or pectin, prohibiting their manufacture and sale.
Recently, China has banned the use of some chemical in manufacturing of toothpaste because of the danger of cancer and other diseases.
In Pakistan local manufacturers are using kaolin or pectin in toothpaste. This is very dangerous for human health.
The ministry of health should take action against the manufacture of this type of low standard toothpastes.
MUHMAMMAD AFZAL
Rawalpindi
IT is highly undesirable to see serving armed forces officers, as well as officers on leave pending retirement, looking for civil accommodation for hiring or requisitioning at rental ceilings which are ridiculously low and incompatible to their ranks. The army has enormous resources at its disposal which should be diverted to undertaking construction of suitable accommodation. Otherwise the rental ceiling should be raised adequately to save uniformed officers from embarrassment.
As a retired officer from the defence forces, I urge the president, the ministry of defence and the incumbent COAS to safeguard the diminishing image of the armed forces by initiating prompt action in the above regard.
GROUP CAPT (r) ALIM HARRIS
Rawalpindi
WE are again hearing news about the government’s intention to reintroduce the old failed system of two-day weekly holiday. It has repeatedly been confirmed that, given our laxity in work ethics, every little thing takes forever to get done in our offices.
With the introduction of a five-day working week, the office workers will take half-day off on Fridays (unofficially) and not return on Mondays either.
The excuse relates to prayer time on Friday and inevitable delays on returning from out-of-town trips that every worker is somehow obligated to undertake because of the long weekend. So the actual work days are practically cut down to just three-and-a-half days.
This will be a burden on the ordinary citizens who have some vital work with one office or the other, but find the officers available for only a few days in a week.
Our officers should utilise their personal entitled holidays to enjoy life, not at the cost of misery to the ordinary citizens plus tremendous loss to national productivity that a five-day week would entail.
BARRISTER ZAMEER HASSAN
Rawalpindi
THIS is with reference to the editorial, ‘Reforming the curriculum’ (May 3). The new coalition government seems to come on the right track by taking education issues. Shaukat Aziz’s government paid special heed only to Punjab’s education system.
The federal education minister’s first and foremost step should be to change the course because for a long time students have been reading from the same books.
The new courses must be interesting as well as informative.
Our school infrastructure makes the students bored of going to school and, therefore, it must also be attractive.
Special attention should also be paid to the education situation in Balochistan because government schools in that province are not being run well.
Some other universities must also be built because the province has few universities and well-trained teachers. Teachers should also be trained by educationists and must be given good salaries so that they can perform their duties better.
BAKHTAWAR ANWAR
Kech Turbat
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