Staff reporter:
Health and Family Welfare Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain has said the country has adequate stocks of vaccines to combat pneumonia.
“The government would import more vaccines if necessary,” he said.
The minister said this while addressing a discussion marking World Pneumonia Day, organized by the Bangladesh Paediatric Society at Bangladesh Medical University (BMU) in city here yesterday, said a press release.
BMU Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr FA Siddiqui attended the event as special guest while Dean of the Faculty of Paediatrics Professor Dr Md Atiar Rahman moderated the discussion.
Sakhawat urged concerned stakeholders to provide specific recommendations on the measures needed to protect children from pneumonia, saying the government is ready to provide necessary equipment and all kinds of support to this end.
Assistance from the Prime Minister would also be sought if required, he added.
The minister said lack of awareness in the family and unhygienic living conditions are among the major causes of pneumonia and various other childhood diseases.
He said hospital visits often reveal that a single bed is being shared by more than one child. It was also seen that a mother is breastfeeding child of another woman which carries serious health risks, he added.
Children are also frequently deprived of necessary care due to various family complications and a lack of awareness, the minister said.
Dr Sakhawat further said around 25,000 Family Welfare Visitors would be engaged at the grassroots level to raise awareness among mothers about breastfeeding, child nutrition and hygiene. They would also be equipped with portable screening machines for breast examinations, he added.
Outlining the plan to introduce advanced screening systems for the prevention of breast and cervical cancers, the minister said Bangladesh would develop facilities for early detection of the two cancers by drawing on the experiences of countries such as Sri Lanka and Germany.
Such initiatives would help bring affected women under treatment at an early stage and increase their chances of recovery, he added.
