Pakistan, like many developing countries, grapples with a mounting burden of infectious diseases and their enduring impacts. These diseases not only heighten morbidity and mortality rates but also strain healthcare systems, leading to increased costs. A significant obstacle in combating these diseases is the inadequate dissemination of awareness among the populace and a lack of comprehensive information. While prevention is paramount, instilling this mindset requires effective communication and education for public understanding. However, the challenge persists due to limited resources and access to technologies, exacerbating the difficulty of addressing these pressing healthcare issues effectively.
In 2023, The Infection Prevention and Control Foundation has benefited 27,184 people through a total of 123 public awareness activities conducted by the Volunteer Force Against Hepatitis Transmission (VFAHT) and we aim to benefit more people all across Pakistan in 2024.
This program aims at educating people through seminars, webinars, walks, social media, and door-to-door awareness programs. The purpose is to engage youth to properly guide and educate the masses about the prevention and control of infectious diseases, starting from the basic hygienic habits they can adopt. The focus of this program is to create such a communication link that will be trustworthy for the public.
The components of this program include Safe Blood Donation Seminars, Hand Hygiene Awareness Drives in schools, Hepatitis Awareness Campaigns, and awareness about other infectious diseases like Polio, Rabies, Malaria, Dengue, COVID-19, TB, HIV, Typhoid, and Oral Hygiene. We also aim at guiding the healthcare officials and staff about the preventive and infection surveillance procedures, routines, and policies adapted to the optimal infection control level needed to tackle today’s microbes/germs in hospital practice.
We aspire to take these numbers to a new level and try to educate maximum people about the importance of treatment against infectious diseases and the basic preventive measures they can adopt to secure themselves.