Improve Health for Mothers & Children in Pakistan

Dear Supporters of Mothers and Children in Pakistan;

It has been a busy and exciting last few months for us. Thanks to the support of all our generous donors, our new project, the SHINE Humanity- Aasra General Hospital in Gharo, started operating on the 17th of  April and we have been treating a steadily increasing stream of patients. 3324 patients have been treated at this facility tiil  the end of August.  As in the past, most of our patients [ 88 percent]  have been women and children. We are providing outpatient primary care services with an emphasis on disease prevention. All children are questioned about routine childhood  immunizations and referred to the Expanded Program for Immunization  nearby,  in cases where  they haven’t been vaccinated. Would-be mothers are given complete antenatal checkups and followed up on vaccinations, nutrition and supplement requirements to ensure a safe pregnancy and healthy outcome. We have partnered with the nonprofit, Husaini Hematology and Oncology Trust, to provide quality assured diagnostic laboratory and blood transfusion services.

Another 267 beneficiaries were treated at an outreach  medical camp in Babra on the 8th of July. There are no healthcare facilities in this village, so, the villagers were very happy to receive this service at their doorstep. More camps are  planned for  the future.

Chewing tobacco is a huge problem in this area, as it is most other areas of Pakistan, leading to one of the highest incidences of oral cancer in this region. Our staff  members question the patients on this practice and educate them on the harm caused by it and the need to quit.

This summer, Gharo and its surrounding areas were also affected by heavy rains and ensuing problems. There were no reported deaths or major disease outbreaks in the area. However,  in mid-August, we arranged for the transport of  patients from the  catchment village of Sultanabad, as soon as we heard  that a lack of transport was hindering their ability to seek help for those suffering from diarrhea and similar problems. These villagers were long time users of Aasra’s services and had now moved to higher ground, because of the flooding around their huts.  54 patients including men, women and children were treated at  the SHINE Humanity- Aasra General Hospital’s outpatient  clinic  and  transported back to their settlement.

In July, we undertook the  co-support  of Sina Health & Education  Welfare Trust’s charitable  primary and preventive health care clinic in Baldia Town, Karachi. With the ever rising level of living expenses, this clinic serves to alleviate some of the healthcare burden of the low income beneficiaries who visit this clinic.  This clinic also provides psycho-social counseling, and laboratory, ultrasound  and Xray  services. 3280 patients were treated at his facility in July and August, and another 712 were provided diagnostic and other services such as nebulization. 312 patients received preventive care for diabetes and hypertension during these two months.

SHINE is continuing the support of the Pediatrics wards at the R.B.U.T Civil Hospital in Shikarpur where 9835 children have been treated from January to August 2013. We are continuing to work alongside WHO and UNICEF for providing the nutritional and medical  care for children admitted with severe malnutrition. This summer we had two new air conditioners installed in the wards to overcome the intense heat in this area. These air conditioners were  donated very generously by a couple of our California supporters.

Thank you for enabling us achieve all of the above with your love and kind support. We are truly grateful to you and Global Giving for helping us improve the health of our beneficiaries in Pakistan, and we ask you to please consider becoming a monthly supporter for the  thousands of beneficiaries who need medical care which  is usually prohibitively expensive for them  because of their limited resources and competing daily expenses.

Links:

• Search for SHINE Humanity on Google