Include thalassemia in health policy as non-communicable disease

Health experts tell roundtable

8 May 2010, 18:00 PM

Staff Correspondent

Health experts yesterday demanded that the government incorporate thalassemia in the national health policy as a non-communicable disease and take necessary steps to manage and prevent it. Thalassemia is a genetic disease and if both the father and mother are its carriers, there is a chance for their child to get the disease, they said. It should be identified as a disease burden like cancer, heart disease and other non-communicable diseases in the article 23 of the health policy, said the experts adding that the number of thalassemia patients has been increasing in the society but the treatment facility is quite inadequate. The medical experts made the calls at a roundtable discussion organised by Bangladesh Thalassemia Foundation at the seminar room of Press Institute of Bangladesh (PIB) in the city. Presenting the keynote paper, Prof Manzur Morshed, consultant hematologist at Square Hospital, said almost one crore people in the country are thalassemia carriers. "A child is born with thalassemia every hour adding more than 8,000 new thalassemic babies in a year in the country," he said. The speakers stressed the need for increasing awareness in the society so that a thalassemia carrier does not marry another carrier to save the next generation from the disease. They also demanded to conduct a study to find out the prevalence of thalassemia in the country, pre-marital screening and counselling, prenatal diagnosis for the risky couples, subsidised treatment facilities for the thalassemia patients and day care centres for convenient blood transfusion. Speaking as chief guest, Social Welfare Minister Enamul Haque Mostafa Shahid said he would do everything in his capacity to incorporate thalassemia issue in the health policy so that the management of the disease gets priority. He also said the social welfare ministry would contribute to Bangladesh Thalassemia Foundation if necessary. Prof Rashid E Mahbub, president of Health Rights Movement National Committee, presided over the discussion. Aktari Mamtaz, joint secretary to the health ministry, Prof Mostafa Kamal Uddin, chairman of National Curriculum and Textbook Board, Prof Sharfuddin Ahmed, secretary general of Bangladesh Medical Association, Sardar Arif Uddin of ActionAid and Dr Abdur Rahim, secretary general of Bangladesh Thalassemia Foundation, also spoke at the roundtable.