THATTA, July 15: The National Commission for Human Development in collaboration with provincial education and health departments has launched school health programme in 17 districts of the country. This was stated by Brig Kamran, senior general manager of the NCHD, Sindh, while speaking at the concluding session of a three-day workshop on the National School Health Programme on Friday.

The Sindh coordinator of the National Health Programme, Mujtaba Kamal Qazi, Dr Moazzam Khalil, Air Commodore (rtd) Zulfiqar Khan, Dr Asmat, Mehfooz Bhatti, Miandad Rahujo and Dr Mumtaz Brohi spoke on the occasion.

Brig Kamran said the NCHD had taken “Pehla Qadam” (first step) to launch a national school health programme to provide a common platform where health and education sectors could jointly work to improve and sustain health and education of children and complement each other to achieve objective of human development in the country.

The speakers said that poor health was an important underlying factor for low school enrolment, absenteeism, poor classroom performance and early school drop-out on the other hand adequate healthcare would encourage more poor children to go to school.

Identifying the areas affecting the learning of student, they observed that eyesight, hearing impairment, skin problem, dental health and personal hygiene were the factors to be tackled and relief provided through the teachers.

To reduce health problems, they said, teacher would access health representatives and with the mutual consent of parents the child proposed to be treated.

Some 16,000 activists of the NCHD in Sindh will coordinate in providing health facility and making the programme a grand success.