A team of 30 academicians from the different Medical Universities and Colleges of Punjab, Baluchistan and KPK along with representatives of World Health Organization visited Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences Jamshoro on 19-20 March, 2013.
The visit was arranged by the World Health Organization in collaboration with MNCH (Maternal Neonate and Child Health) Program, Government of Sindh with the purpose to observe the Pre Service IMNCI (Integrated Management of Neonatal & Childhood Illness) which has been adopted by LUMHS for the teaching of undergraduate students.
Wile addressing the introductory session, Prof. Salma Shaikh, Dean Medicine & allied Sciences LUMHS expressed that every year, nearly 11 million children die before reaching their fifth birthday. In response to this challenge, WHO and UNICEF in the early 1990s developed Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI), a strategy designed to reduce child mortality and morbidity in developing countries. The approach focuses on the major causes of deaths in children through improving case management skills of health workers, strengthening the health system, and addressing family and community practices.
The Vice Chancellor Prof. Mashoor Alam Shah mentioned that IMNCI (pre- Service) education improves student’s competencies in managing children in the outpatient settings before graduation; he offered full support/guidance and cooperation for the adoption of this skilled training to the undergraduate medical students in other Institutions of the country.