HEALTH

Family health awareness camp
From Our Correspondent

SAHNEWAL, July 14 — A team of doctors of Civil Hospital, Sahnewal, organised a free family health awareness camp, under the guidance of Dr Nalini Dutta, Senior Medical Officer. This fortnightly camp aims at making people conscious of the sexually transmitted diseases and provides them with remedial measures.

Dr Dutta said, "With the rapid spread of AIDS people should not be shy and come forward with any problem they are facing. If ignored, the problem can gradually acquire serious proportions".

Another main objective of the camp was to discourage female infanticide. "The craze for a baby boy has driven people, mostly of rural areas, mad. They are ready to take one, two, three or as many chances for a male child. There is an urgent need to imbibe social and moral values in this regard ", said Dr Rajinder Kaur, Civil Surgeon, in her address to the audience.

Watches were distributed to the rural backward people who have provided immunisation to their children at proper intervals. Special incentives were given to those who have adopted family planning methods .

Souvenirs, as a token of respect, were given to the Istri Sahit Sabha and some women at grass root level who work in Aanganwaris. They have worked a lot in making the women adopt family planning model and aware of the need of immunisation for their children and helped in reducing the maternal mortality rate by reporting them immediately to some nearby hospital.