With the second wave of the Coronavirus, six AKDN agencies have come together to support Pakistan’s health system to manage the spread of the disease, with a focus on training and awareness-raising.
Many medicines, likes anaesthetics and inhalers, are known to contribute significantly to health care’s emissions footprint. Consequently, staff at the Aga Khan Health Services are looking at ways to reduce the use of these products.
In Tanzania, health experts and stakeholders have called for more coordinated efforts to ensure that infants are exclusively breastfed in their first six months after birth. A pediatrician and breastfeeding specialist from the Aga Khan Hospital in Dar es Salaam, Dr Mariam Noorani, highlighted several challenges that thwart exclusive breastfeeding in the country. "There is widespread knowledge about the importance of exclusive breastfeeding and most mothers would wish to exclusively breastfeed. However, there are many challenges that families face that may result in the baby not being able to complete exclusive breastfeeding," she noted.
According to the 2015 Tanzania Demographic Health Survey with only 59% of children are exclusively breastfed in their first six months of life with over 40% children lacking the essential service, a factor which contributes immensely to the deaths of under-five children. Dr Mariam Noorani, a pediatrician and lactation consultant at the Aga Khan Hospital in Dar es Salaam,says that breast milk is a baby’s first vaccine, the first and best protection they have against illness and disease with newborns, accounting for nearly half of all deaths of children under five, saying early breastfeeding can make the difference between life and death.
Delivered by Ms. Sheherazade Hirji, AKDN ’s Diplomatic Representative to Afghanistan
Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In a statement delivered at the virtually held 2020 Afghanistan Conference by AKDN’s Diplomatic Representative to Afghanistan Sheherazade Hirji, His Highness the Aga Khan, on behalf of the Ismaili Imamat and the Aga Khan Development Network, today reaffirmed his enduring commitment to a peaceful and pluralistic Afghanistan.
In a statement delivered at the virtually held 2020 Afghanistan Conference by AKDN’s Diplomatic Representative to Afghanistan Sheherazade Hirji, His Highness the Aga Khan, on behalf of the Ismaili Imamat and the Aga Khan Development Network, today reaffirmed his enduring commitment to a peaceful and pluralistic Afghanistan.
Speaking in Dar es Salaam at the climax of the World Prematurity Day, CEO of the Aga Khan Hospital, Sisawo Konteh, said that it was time now for the government, health stakeholders and donors to think about a strong system to support the babies. He said that ensuring the survival of preterm babies and their mothers requires sustained and significant financial and practical support. "Prematurity is the leading cause of newborn deaths and the second-leading cause of death after pneumonia in children under the age of 5. Let us change the future for millions of babies born too soon, for their mothers and families."
