Mahrukh Naeem
In Pakistan, insufficient healthcare infrastructure and resources have resulted in the construction of subpar health care facilities, particularly in rural and neglected areas. This article focuses light on the difficulties created by these inadequate health centres, as well as their significant influence on child health.
Limited Access to Quality Healthcare: Poor health centres may lack critical medical equipment, competent personnel, and medicines. As a result, children have limited access to high-quality healthcare services, resulting in delayed diagnosis, inadequate treatment, and overall poor health outcomes.
High infant mortality rates are exacerbated by a lack of adequate medical facilities and qualified experts. Because of the lack of early and effective medical interventions, preventable diseases and disorders like as pneumonia, diarrhoea, and malnutrition frequently result in disastrous results.
Malnutrition and Stunted Growth: Because insufficient health centres do not manage malnutrition properly, a large percentage of children suffer from stunted growth and developmental difficulties. The lack of competent dietary consultation, supplementation, and monitoring at these centres exacerbates the problem.
Inadequate Vaccination Coverage: Inadequate health centres struggle to keep proper vaccine storage and administration practises. As a result, vaccine coverage rates decline, leaving children vulnerable to preventable diseases such as measles, polio, and hepatitis.
Infectious illness dissemination: Inadequate sanitation, hygiene, and infection control methods in impoverished health centres contribute to infectious illness dissemination. Children who seek treatment at these facilities are more likely to get infections, further jeopardising their health.
Impact on Education: Children’s health problems can cause repeated absences from school, lowering their educational progress. Poor health care facilities contribute to a cycle of poor health and limited educational prospects for children in low-income neighbourhoods. The presence of inadequate health centres in Pakistan has far-reaching implications for child health and development. To address these difficulties, the government, healthcare organisations, and international partners must work together to improve healthcare infrastructure, promote access to quality services, and prioritise the well-being of children across the country.
The writer is the student of department of journalism 8 semester Institute of communication studies in Punjab University Lahore.
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