HYDERABAD, March 30: District Nazim Dr Makhdoom Rafiquzzaman has directed that school health services should be reactivated.

He asked the EDO, health, to form a team of specialist doctors to medically examine schoolchildren in the district.

Mr Rafiquzzaman was presiding over a meeting regarding Unicef assistance to the district government in maternal child healthcare, child survival development and water environment and sanitation sectors here on Tuesday.

He directed the district health management to start medical examination of students from the first week of April. He said during check up, health card of each child should be recorded for guidance of parents and the same report should also be submitted to the district government. He said the practice should be repeated every six months.

The nazim informed the participants that Unicef according to its agreement with the Sindh government had devised a strategy to support the district government in promotion of maternal and child health care, girls’ education, water environment and sanitation and elimination of child labour.

He said under a memorandum of understanding signed between the district government and Unicef, maternal child healthcare, child survival development and water environment and sanitation sectors were identified as fields of work in Hala and Tando Mohammad Khan talukas.

He said due to his efforts, the management of Unicef had agreed to extend its services to three more talukas in the district, Tando Allahyar, Matiari and Hyderabad (rural). He said Unicef had also agreed to include immunization programme for the Hyderabad district to eradicate polio.

Mr Rafiquzzaman said targets fixed for 2005 included establishment of four additional child survival corners and two major salt processors producing iodised salt, five per cent increase in use of iodized salt, installation of 200 hand-pumps in the selected talukas, training of 200 women in hygiene and promotion of using lavatories.

He said it would also be ensured that 50,000 families received key child health messages through woman health workers in the selected areas.

The nazim also asked Unicef for providing transport facilities to workers and devising a communication strategy for awareness among people to achieve the targets.

The chief provincial officer of Unicef, Rana Syed, briefed the meeting about achievements made under the joint venture of the district government and Unicef during 2004.

She said Rs1.657 million was spent on providing training to 328 supervisors and 1,461 teams were made available before the national immunization day.