Pakistan Launched New WHO Approved Typhoid Vaccine

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Pakistan has become the first country throughout the globe to launch the World Health Organization’s (WHO) approved Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TCV) to battle the epidemic of a drug-resistant strain (XDR).

The new anti-typhoid vaccine has been introduced during the immunization campaign "Mission Typhoid" started from November 19^th in Sindh province, where nearly 10,000 cases of the disease have been recorded since 2017. 

The TCV campaign is designed to vaccinate 10.1 million children, aged between 9 months and 15 years against the waterborne fatal disease. The vaccine offers a very beneficial solution to protect children from drug-resistant (XDR) typhoid, a serious illness caused by Salmonella Typhi.

“Within the two weeks, the campaign has successfully achieved 90% of its set target”, said Sindh EOC Project Director Dr Akram Sultan.

The new WHO-approved typhoid vaccines have been provided by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to the Pakistani government free of cost. “This vaccine (Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine) is pre-qualified by the World Health Organization, which means that its production is rigorously monitored by WHO. TCV is recommended for use by WHO because it’s safe and effective in granting the protection (against XDR typhoid)”, said WHO representative in Pakistan, Dr. Palitha Gunarathna Mahipala.

The UNICEF representative in Pakistan Aida Girma also expressed her views, “UNICEF fully endorses the Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TCV), a safe and efficient way to protect children against this deadly disease”.

Health professionals have expressed their apprehension about the outbreak of Typhoid in the country. According to their statistics, Pakistan's awful sewage, water systems, low vaccination rates along the over-populated abodes are the actual reasons behind the spread of drug-resistant typhoid. To combat the situation WHO tested and approved TCV has been introduced in Sindh province to curb the deadly disease. 

However, in the initial stage, some people show resistance towards mission typhoid campaign, as some cases of minor side effects were detected in some children, but WHO, UNICEF & local doctors and pediatricians endorsed the use of the vaccine. Prof Khalid Shafi, the vice president of the Pakistan Pediatric Association (PPA) said, ‘my daughter was the first child, who got the TCV shot in her arm when the vaccination campaign started in Sindh’.

As a part of the Mission Typhoid campaign, around 8000 + skilled and trained vaccinators supported the campaign along with 2 social mobilizers per vaccination team visited households to mobilize families to vaccination sites. 

It is also very important that people should be informed about the precautionary measure that apart from TCV vaccination, they should make sure to consume boiled drinking water, avoid rotten food items and always teach children about hand-washing, particularly after using the toilet.

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Accu Chek Pakistan Held 'Healthy Me' Poster Competition

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The theme for World Diabetes Day 2019 was Family and Diabetes. The theme was aimed to raise awareness of the diabetes effect on one’s family and promoting the support as well as the role of the family in managing, carefulness, prevention and acquiring knowledge of diabetes.

A lack of knowledge about this silent disease – diabetes means that noticing the early symptoms is not just a hindrance for family members, but it’s a bigger concern impacting the whole society. Do you know that diabetes was responsible for four million deaths in 2017? It was due to untreated or unmanaged diabetes that leads to life-changing impediments.

In order to create diabetes awareness in country, the Roche Pakistan, the pioneers in Diabetes Care, took a great initiative by engaging young children and school going students to highlight the significance of diabetes care, prevention, and alertness about the silent disease. The main focus was to educate them that how changing a lifestyle can prevent diabetes or help in managing it. The initiative aimed at helping students in understanding the symptoms and complications of diabetes. Diet plans were shared to teach them healthy eating routine from an early age to avoid obesity that can lead to diabetes.

The Accu Chek Pakistan, a brand of blood sugar-testing devices manufactured by Roche Diagnostics, organized a poster competition ‘Healthy Me’ as a drill to tell young minds that healthy living amongst children ensures a healthy future. 

Children were asked to draw, make posters to express their knowledge about World Diabetes Day theme; Family and Diabetes. The contest further enabled students to absorb the maximum information about the symptoms of diabetes and how Accu-Chek can help to monitor blood sugar levels.

The Healthy Me poster contest was judged by cricketer Mr. Wasim Akram, who himself is a diabetic patient and an inspiration for many people who want to be active and fit. The competition administration received hundreds of entries from schools all across Pakistan showing that such activity can really promote awareness among children and their families.

Following are some of the creative posters and illustrations that children made to highlight the importance of a healthy lifestyle and diet to prevent and control diabetes in families and children.

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Pharma Industry Reduces Prices of 395 Essential Medicines

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Price hike of electricity, gas, diesel and overall inflation is directly hitting Pharmaceuticals cost, said PPMA chairman Zahid Saeed. Photo web

Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Association (PPMA) on Wednesday announced to curtail prices of 395 essential medicines to give relief to the masses. 

The prices were earlier reduced by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) but not implemented by the pharmaceutical industry. PPMA also announced to slash prices of 464 medicines voluntarily by 10 to 15 per cent.

“Today we announce to reduce prices of 395 essential medicines from one percent to 471 percent as per government’s SRO no. 1610 and within 15 days, these medicines would be available on reduced prices throughout Pakistan”, announced Zahid Saeed, Chairman PMMA at a press conference held at local hotel. 

Accompanied by Ayesha Tammy Haq, the representative from multinational pharmaceutical companies in Pakistan and several drug manufacturers, PPMA Chairman said they were forced to lower down the prices of medicines with heavy heart on the pressure from the health minister as well as prime Minister's advisor of commerce.

The pharmaceutical industry has voluntarily decided to lower the prices of another 464 medicines by 10-15 percent and providing it to the people on their original cost of production, PPMA Chairman announced, saying medicines whose prices were being reduced were very well known and commonly used medicines for the treatment of communicable as well as non-communicable diseases.

Recently, government of Pakistan allowed increase in prices of around 45000 medicines by 15 percent following a suo moto taken by the Supreme Court of Pakistan but in some hardship cases, prices of 464 medicines were increased over 15 percent because their cost of production had become unbearable for the industry and production of many of these drugs had been stopped by the pharmaceutical manufacturers.

“It is very painful and challenging decision for pharmaceutical industry since hardship cases were decided in Nov 2018 where rupee were priced 138 against the US dollar. Today it is 143”, Zahid Saeed said, adding that continuation of these prices is possible if dollar does not appreciate, utilities prices are maintained and government is able to control inflation.

PPMA Chairman announced that the decisions are implemented from today on wards and work on replacement of stocks has commenced to ensure availability of reduced price, adding that process to recover and replace stocks at distributor / retail shelf level will be 100% complete in next 15 days.

Zahid Saeed maintained that the government had allowed 15 percent increase in prices of locally produced medicines in January this year to ensure the survival of the pharmaceutical industry of the country facing serious economic challenges in its strive to produce quality drugs at affordable prices for the patients in Pakistan.

Increase in prices of medicines had been in conformity with the several directions of the apex judiciary on the issue, he said and added that in case the government had not allowed any relief to the Pakistani medicines’ manufacturers in the form of 15 percent increase in locally produced drugs, public healthcare system of the country would have been in sheer shambles.

“Cost of production of the local Pharma industry had increased manifold since 2018 due to an unprecedented decrease in value of rupee as compared to the dollar while keeping in view the fact that up to 90 percent raw material of the industry was imported”, he informed.

“In the meanwhile electricity tariff increased by 45 percent, the natural gas bill increased by 65 percent while diesel price also increased by 95 percent as all these factors also directly affect the cost of our production,” said PPMA chairman.

Urging government to slash duties and taxes on import of raw material including packaging material, he said they contribute Rs. 50 billion annually to national exchequer and added that if government makes them taxation free industry, they could slash prices by another 15-20 percent while they could also earn valuable foreign exchange by becoming the second largest exporting industry of Pakistan within two years.

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Tabba Heart Institute's Diagnostic & Consultation Services Now Opens In DHA

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Being a daughter of a heart patient, I can understand the importance of a diagnostic center near your residence. This is the reason I am glad that Tabba Heart Institute has opened a new OPD set-up and services in a locality that was earlier deprived of such state-of-art facilities.

Tabba Heart Institute is providing its services of cardiovascular and other related ailments to the masses since 2005, through its main centre in Federal B Area. Keeping in mind the need of a its patients, THI decided to open its latest Diagnostic Facility and Consultation Services in DHA just for the convenience of Clifton, DHA and other nearby areas’ residents. 

Located at a custom build building at Main Korangi road, near Kala Pull, Phase II, Defence Housing Authority, the new facility centre will provide consultation services of well-known cardiologists and cardiac surgeons from Tabba Heart Institute.

It will also provide services from Tabba Kidney Institute throughout the week. All these services will include lab tests, pharmacy, Non Invasive Diagnostics tests including ETT, Echo, X-ray, Nuclear Scan Thallium Scan, Holter Monitoring. Ambulatory BP Monitoring, Tilt Table test and ECG.

TBI is a dream project of late Chairman Mr. Abdul Razzak Tabba. It has world class infrastructure backed by American Board trained physicians and cardiac surgeons. The highly trained para medical staff, nurses is another feature of TBI whose services have been recognized by American College of Cardiology as being the first and only hospital in Pakistan for providing quality cardiac care.

Check out the following video to have an idea about the new diagnostic and consultation center at DHA. 

 

 The new centre is now functional and appointments or other inquiries can be taken from the information desk or by calling 0312-0844 844, 111-844-844. 


[Video Courtesy Munir Rahool]

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