» Celebrating a new beginning-TB cured patients share their experiences

» Interview with Federal Minister Population Welfare, Government of Pakistan

» Dissemination Seminar on Emergency Contraception Pilot Project

» Greenstar at First Health Expo 2006, Islamabad

» 50 ITNs Donated

Celebrating a new beginning-TB cured patients share their experiences
18 December 2006, Karachi

TB had shattered my confidence and now I feel a new life, motivated and energetic, said young college student Ms. Nida Shafique, a cured TB patient in Karachi. Nadia was sharing her experience with the public in a gathering celebrating first thirty cured patients by Greenstar Social Marketing. Nida was one of the thirty cured patients present on the occasion.

Nida, one of the cured TB patients sharing her experience

 

Tuberculosis is an old disease which health workers all over the world are finding hard to control. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared tuberculosis as a global emergency. Pakistan like many other countries is working to control the spread of TB. Pakistan ranks sixth among the countries with highest disease burden. There are around 250,000 new TB cases in Pakistan each year. The detection of patients with TB in Pakistan is low. Treatment outcomes for patients are also poor. As a result, many TB patients die because they are either not detected, detected late, inappropriately treated or fail to complete treatment as the treatment is over a period of eight months.

Greenstar is implementing TB project in five major cities with the support of international donor, The Global Fund and in collaboration with National TB Control Program (NTP), Ministry of Health.

In addition to cured TB patients, the event was attended by various government and non government officials. Dr. Iqtidar Ahmad Choudhry, Director Provincial TB Control Program Sindh, appreciated the contribution of Greenstar which resulted in the sharp increase of Case Detection Rate in Karachi from 41% to 71% in the last quarter.

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Interview with Federal Minister Population Welfare, Government of Pakistan Mr. Ch. Shahbaz Hussain 4 December 2006

NR: MoPW has seen significant changes under your leadership. Would you like to share some of your major accomplishments and new initiatives?

CSH: Though the Ministry has achieved major mile stones, I feel this is for the first time that we have tried to bridge the gap between the common Pakistani and the ministry. We have involved all key players in decision making process. For example, the Ministry has been inviting religious leaders, scholars, educated youth, public representatives, labor leaders and also non government organisations to discuss important issues.

We have also increased public awareness on relevant issues through targeted and focused advocacy and media campaigns.

NR: How do you see the Impact of Population Welfare Programs in Pakistan? Where do we stand in comparison to our regional counterparts?

CSH: We are trying to improve the efficacy of our programs, including family planning and mother and child health initiatives. I can see a fruitful and long term impact in the years to come, as we have tried to reach all segments of the society. As I said earlier, we have invited all walks of life and most importantly youth will play a major role in population control and in improving the health conditions of our society in the coming years.

We have given a gender balanced approach to all programs by equally involving men and women. You can see our male community mobilizers and workers, two and half years ago, there you could only see female workers.

South East Asia is affected by the heavy burden of population and we share some common problems with our neighboring countries. We have organized events and platforms where we learn from each other and the ministry is trying to learn from the experiences from other regions. And let me share that our neighboring countries are also keen to replicate our success stories and learn from Pakistan.

NR: Where does MoPW stand today and what direction you envisage for the MoPW to pursue in future?

CSH: I am pleased to see the Ministry getting more focused and organized. I appreciate my team for the hard work and commitment in reaching to the poor. Our programs are now more targeted to improve the quality of life of a common Pakistani. However, there is much to be done for behavior change. You can see, people are still hesitant in going to the family welfare centers and in using contraceptives. We need to do more to increase awareness and also to create an environment where family planning is not a sensitive issue.

NR: Social Marketing has come a long way under the guidance of MoPW, what message you would like to give for Social Marketing organizations?

CSH: Social Marketing organizations are doing a good job and the Ministry has been encouraging non government partners. We encourage our partners in helping the government to achieve the common cause. NGOs are also represented in the National Population Commission which is presided over by the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

I would like all Social Marketing organizations to expand their scale and reach to the underserved areas. Some rural areas are still unexplored and we should provide our services and products in such areas. I can assure you, if quality services and products are available at the door step, there will be behavior change and economic conditions will also improve in the time to come.

I would also like the non government organizations to come forward for improving Mother and Child Health care.

NR: MoPW has been supporting all implementing partners, would you like to share MoPW’s expectations from partners.

CSH: The Population Ministry is expanding its programs in all areas of family planning and reproductive health. We would like our partners to assist the Ministry in three major areas: increasing awareness, demand generation and in training especially for family planning, safe delivery and maternal health. I would reiterate that we should reach the far flung areas and serve where immediate attention is needed.

NR: Thank you very much Sir, for your precious time and guidance.

CSH: Ch. Shahbaz Hussain, Federal Minister for Population Welfare, Government of Pakistan

NR: Nishat Riaz, Senior Manager Communications, Greenstar Social Marketing

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Dissemination Seminar on Emergency Contraception Pilot Project

Greenstar Social Marketing organized a dissemination seminar on Emergency Contraception on Thursday 14 December 2006, in Islamabad.

Dr. Donya Aziz, Parliamentary Secretary for Population Welfare was the Chief Guest. Dr. Donya congratulated Greenstar for providing affordable and quality health care services in Pakistan. She said that emergency contraception is part of the family planning and reproductive health spectrum and it should be integrated with public health services. She informed that the government is developing curriculum for the male advisory centers and invited private sector for technical assistance. Dr. Donya very clearly appreciated the efforts of Greenstar for reaching out to the poor and providing affordable health products and services.

Dr. Zeba Sattar, County Director Population Council presented findings of the recent report on “Unwanted Pregnancy and Post-Abortion Complications in Pakistan” by Population Council. She congratulated Greenstar for realizing the importance of Emergency Contraception and scaling up the project and she stressed the need for EC.

Dr. Nausheen Mehmood, Senior Country Advisor, Packard Foundation Pakistan acknowledged Greenstar’s contribution in health sector and mentioned Packard Foundation strong support for establishing clinics in earthquake regions.

Dr. Farhana Zareef presented findings of the EC pilot project, followed by an interactive Q&A session.
Among other participants were Dr. Nabeela Ali(PAIMAN), Cathy Bowes(USAID), Dr. Zahid Larik( MoH), Dr. Zareef Uddin Khan(MoH), Mr. Mohamad Shafeeq Ud Din (P&D), Bruce Maccay (KSM), Dr. Rakhshanda Perveen(SACHET), representatives from FPAP, PPAF, UNICEF, PMDC,NIH and media.

Greenstar expanding nationally

Trying to reach out to the most underserved and needy areas, Greenstar has established a new regional office in Multan on 06 December 2006.

Ribbon Cutting of West Region office by Imran Zafar, CEO GSM and Syed Sadaqat Ali, Regional GM.

In addition to the already existing three regional offices, with more than 32 zonal teams, the new region will be called West Punjab region. West region will cover Multan, Sahiwal, Khanewal, Bahawalpur, DG Khan, DI Khan, Rahim Yar Khan and Mianwali.

 

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Greenstar donates 50 Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs) to Society for Human Empowerment and Rural Development (SHER).

Imran Zafar, Chief Executive Officer, Greenstar Social Marketing and GoodLife (Guarantee) Limited presented fifty Insecticide Treated Nets to the Chief Executive Officer of SHER.

These ITNs are to be used in a recently established a centre for the orphan and poor children of District Khushab called SHER Ghar. At present there are 50 children being brought up in SHER Ghar.

According to the World Health Organisation, “Trials have shown that use of insecticide-treated nets protect sleeping children from being bitten by mosquitoes, resulting in dramatic reductions in malaria-related deaths among children under five”.

Imran Zafar, CEO GoodLife presenting ITNs to Col. Mohd. Sadiq, CEO SHER.

Results from large-scale trials in The Gambia, Kenya and Ghana showed that treating nets with biodegradable pyrethroid insecticide added to their efficacy and helped save lives.

Col. Mohd. Sadiq, CEO SHER expressed his thanks to Greenstar and GoodLife for donating a much needed tool to combat malaria amongst children. “We are pleased to establish a long-term relationship with GoodLife”, said the CEO SHER Ghar.

For more information on ITNs, please visit www.psi.org and www.who.int.

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Greenstar at First Health Expo 2006, Islamabad

Greenstar Social Marketing with it’s sister concern GoodLife, actively participated in First Health Expo held in Islamabad from 29 -30 November 2006.

President of Pakistan, Gen. Musharraf together with Federal Minister of Health, Nasir Khan and Federal Minister of PW, Ch: Shahbaz Hussain visited GS stall after the inaugural ceremony. Greenstar representatives briefed the President about Greenstar’s contribution for improving the lives of low income Pakistanis.

Both stalls received remarkable attraction from a large number of visitors, including high government and non government officials, doctors, youth, partner organisations and general public.

The event was organized by the Ministry of Health, Government of Pakistan for showcasing Pakistani and foreign Pharma and Surgical Goods industries, medical equipment & accessories manufacturers. Health expo also highlighted the achievements and advances of medical education, and medical services provided in the country.

 

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