Infant and child mortality rates reflect economic and social conditions and effectiveness of health systems. Over the decades, Pakistan has made progress in reducing child and neonatal mortality, however, an accelerated pace is required to achieve the national and global targets. Pakistan has one of the largest numbers of under five years old pneumonia deaths in the region and it is one of the leading causes of death in this age group. Many of these deaths are preventable and treatable with the use of simple, low-cost interventions and care. In this context, a consortium comprising Health Services Academy, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organization (WHO) and Pakistan Paediatric Association (PPA) made consistent efforts for a period of one year and developed the first National Oxygen Therapy Guidelines for Children (NOTGFC) to support the improvement in quality of childcare and effectively managing the oxygen therapy for children, at all levels of healthcare facilities in Pakistan.
The guidelines focus on the importance of early detection of hypoxemia, the sources and use of oxygen therapy, and monitoring of children on oxygen treatment with appropriate infection control measures. The guidelines are important and applicable at primary, secondary and tertiary level healthcare facilities. With support from UNICEF and WHO, the guidelines will be institutionalised in all provinces of the country.
To disseminate these guidelines, a seminar was held on 30th August 2022 in Islamabad in which stakeholders from all over Pakistan were called to take part. The event was attended by Pakistan Paediatrics Association (PPA) from different cities of Pakistan, Vice Chancellor, HSA, Prof. Dr. Shahzad Ali Khan; Chief of Health, UNICEF, Dr. Hari Banskota; Director Programs, Ministry of NHSRC, Dr. Baseer Achakzai; and Representative of Centre of Global Public Health, University of Manitoba.