Senate Body For Delaying MDCAT Exams By Two Months.

ISLAMABAD -- The Senate Standing CommitAtee on National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination on Thursday urged the authorAities concerned to delay the MDACAT exams by at least 2 months, whether to be conducted proAvincially or federally.

The chairman committee maintained that exams should also be conducted as per the PMDC Bill, which is yet to be passed. He said that since the bill now is to be passed evenAtually, we support the governAment in the larger interest of the students. He said that there is no point in impeding the proAcess and keeping the students in an uncertain position. SenaAtor Bahramand Khan Tangi said that students are already sufAfering from psychological isAsues due to corona first and now by the floods. Senator RuAbina Khalid said that the stuAdents are in no position to apApear in the exams anytime soon. The committee urged the minAistry to take appropriate steps to ease the pain of the students of KP and Balochistan affectAed by floods. The Special SecreAtary M/o NHSR and C informed the committee that exams for the medical students of Balochistan and KP has been delayed from 7th September to 14 SeptemAber however further delay is expected because of floods and decision on the timeline of imAplementation of the PMDC Bill.

The committee also raised the question regarding the numAber of children below 10 years of age in Pakistan suffering from anaemia and in stunting. The DiArector (reg) Programmes apAprised the committee that PaAkistan is one of the countries in the world with the highest burAden of malnutrition. According to National Survey (NNS) 2018, one of the largest surveys conAducted internationally so far, an estimated 40.2 percent of chilAdren under the age of five years and stunned (Chronic MalnutriAtion) and nearly 17.7 percent are wasted (Acute Malnutrition). He said that both these figures exAceed WHO emergency threshold levels. NNS 2018 also revealed continued high rates of microAnutrient deficiencies in children and women. A total of 54 percent children are anaemic, 52 percent are vitamin A and 63 percent are vitamin D deficient. Similarly, 43 percent mothers are anaemic, 27 percent suffer from vitamin A and 80 percent from vitamin D deficiency.

The cumulative effect of lost manpower hours, heal expenses and lower productivity due to malnutrition is huge. The comAmittee was further informed that currently there is no direct federal government funding for intervention addressing child malnutrition...