The World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA) is a not-for-profit organization and was founded in 1972 by member organizations in 18 countries. WONCA now has 118 Member Organizations in 131 countries and territories with a membership of about 500,000 family doctors and more than 90 percent of the world's population. WONCA has seven regions, each of which has its own regional Council and run their own regional activities including conferences. WONCA South Asia Region is constituted by the national academies and colleges and academic member organizations of this region namely India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Maldives. In the background of the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic, the office bearers, academic leaders, practitioners, and researchers of primary care from the South Asia Region have issued a solidarity statement articulating the role of primary care physicians.

The purpose of the study is to find the ethical challenges to AIDS management in Pakistan. Such acquired immune deficiency syndrome has emerged as a devastating disease for many years. This study was based on a survey performed from April 2021 to July 2021. This survey was attempted by the doctors, medical staff who were dealing the patients with AIDS. It is also filled by the patients and their families to access the ethical approach and challenges relevant to doctors or medical staff at the clinical level.  The ethics of approaches and challenges to AIDS management was accessed through queries of the questionnaire. Overall results of the study indicated that we need a proper management system, train the medical staff to engage in AIDS patient's care about basic rules of ethics.

Introduction: Breast-cancer-related morbidity and mortality can be reduced by following worldwide-accepted screening guidelines and by appropriate education and training of health professionals on risk identification and screening. The study aimed to determine the significance of educational sessions in improving health professionals’ knowledge about breast cancer, particularly screening modalities that can benefit the patients. Method and Materials: An interventional study was conducted among 260 health professionals, including medical students, nurses, and allied health professionals. The intervention was an educational session on breast cancer risks and screening guidelines. Health professionals’ knowledge about breast cancer risk, presentation, and screening were tested by a structured questionnaire before and after the educational session. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 26. Chi-square was used to identify differences in pre and post-test. P value was considered significant at <0.05. Results: There is a significant difference between pre-session and post-session responses in all areas of knowledge about breast cancer, with much improved outcomes after the educational session. Conclusion: Health professionals lack knowledge about breast cancer risk factors, screening tools, presentation, and management. Regular education sessions improve these knowledge gaps and help early detection and treatment of women at risk of breast cancer.

<p><strong>Background and Objective:</strong> Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the serious health problems in Pakistan. Excessive use of antibiotics during pandemics has aggravated AMR; hence, rational use in the future is even more important to consider and implement. Clinical audits on antibiotic prescribing in general practice can help improve antimicrobial stewardship. This study was designed as an audit to evaluate if the antibiotics prescribed for Streptococcus pharyngitis at a sub-urban primary care center in Pakistan were in line with the standard and latest guidelines.<br /><strong>Methods:</strong> A retrospective audit was carried out at the primary care center located at Nainsukh, Lahore, Pakistan during 1 month period. Both adult and pediatric patients (above 3 years of age) presenting with upper respiratory tract infections were included in the study. A total of 48 consultation cards were identified using International Classification of Diseases 10 coding. The antibiotic prescribing practice of primary care physicians was evaluated against the Modified Centor Criteria (MCC) which was used as a standard. A score of &le;3 required no antibiotic whereas a score of &ge; 3 needed a same-day antibiotic prescription for sore throat.<br /><strong>Results:</strong> There were 28 (58.3%) patients presenting with MCC of &le;3 and were not given antibiotics. Antibiotic prescriptions issued on the day of presentation were n = 20; however, only n = 7 (35%) met the standard criteria, i.e., MCC score of &ge;3 and among these patients, penicillin remained the first choice with 71% patients receiving amoxicillin, while 28% received co-amoxiclav.<br /><strong>Conclusion:</strong> Antibiotic stewardship is lacking among general physicians working at the sub-urban primary health care center in Lahore city. Clinical audits, as a part of clinical governance, may help improving the quality of care provided to the community by the regional primary health care physicians.</p>

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Colostrum and breast milk are not only highly nutritious but also a source of maternal antibodies for infants. We explore maternal awareness and barriers in use of colostrum and breast milk. METHODOLOGY: This cross-sectional study included mothers of children aged 3 years or less who visited primary care centers in urban and peri-urban areas of Lahore, Pakistan, between December 2020 to March 2021. RESULTS: A total of 384 mothers were included in the study, mean age was 28 years. 47% (n=179) had primary or secondary school education. Higher maternal education (p=0.05) and age were associated with better knowledge about the benefits of colostrum. Reasons for not giving colostrum among mothers without formal education (42%) were “it’s not clean milk”, while 38% of mothers with higher education give a reason they could not feed because find it difficult due to C-section. Use of supplemental feed was noted across all educational levels, 60% mothers with no educational background preferred bovine milk, whereas 79% of highly qualified ones preferred formula milk (p=0.00). The use of formula milk was more frequently observed in families with 100,000 PKR per month and above (p=0.00). 80% of mothers were unaware that bovine milk in infants can lead to anemia. CONCLUSION: There is inadequate knowledge, among mothers of all educational levels with reference to colostrum use and the relationship between consumption of bovine milk by infants and iron deficiency. Measures to improving maternal nutritional awareness and optimize infant feeding practices during antenatal visits are needed.