Karachi: Türkiye’s development agency TİKA has expressed willingness to support specialised healthcare services for newborns and children in Sindh, praising the standard of treatment and diagnostic facilities at the Sindh Institute of Child Health and Neonatology (SICHN) and indicating opportunities for further cooperation.
Maşuk Pusa, head of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) for Sindh and Balochistan, gave the assurance during a visit to SICHN’s Korangi facility, where he inspected neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), nurseries, paediatric wards, laboratories and other medical facilities.
Pusa said the Turkish people were willing to cooperate with the institute in its efforts to provide specialised treatment to newborns and critically ill children, particularly those requiring intensive care and advanced medical services.
Expressing satisfaction over the facilities, he said the hospital appeared comparable to a private healthcare institution, an observation he described as encouraging for a publicly funded healthcare facility.
“After visiting this hospital, it feels like a private hospital because such standards of healthcare are not commonly seen in public sector hospitals,” he remarked.
He appreciated the hospital’s management, medical infrastructure and arrangements for treating newborns and children, saying institutions such as SICHN reflected positive developments in Sindh’s healthcare sector.
The Turkish representative said the quality of services being provided at the institute demonstrated the importance of strengthening public healthcare institutions to ensure access to specialised treatment.
He also expressed interest in cooperation with SICHN, assuring its management of the Turkish people’s willingness to support its healthcare initiatives.
Welcoming the Turkish representative, SICHN Executive Director Professor Dr Jamal Raza briefed him on the institute’s expansion, specialised treatment facilities and efforts to improve neonatal survival across Sindh.
He said the institute had established 14 healthcare facilities in 10 cities of the province during the past five years, providing medical services to more than 1.6 million children annually.
According to Dr Jamal Raza, the network currently has approximately 550 ventilators, 480 incubators and 135 intensive care beds, enabling doctors to provide specialised treatment to premature newborns and critically ill children.
He said the expansion of neonatal intensive care services had contributed to reducing newborn mortality in Sindh by improving access to lifesaving treatment, particularly for premature infants and babies born with serious medical complications.
Professor Jamal Raza informed the visiting official that the institute was preparing to introduce genomic testing services to strengthen the diagnosis of inherited and genetic disorders in children.
He said the proposed service would help identify complex genetic conditions and enable doctors to make more informed treatment decisions.
The institute was also operating a round-the-clock virtual healthcare service through which doctors remained available online to provide medical advice and guidance to patients and their families, he added.
Dr Jamal Raza emphasised the importance of early diagnosis of childhood diseases, including thyroid disorders and other conditions affecting children’s growth and development.
SICHN Chief Executive Officer Dr Shahid Raza and Head of Laboratories and Diagnostics Dr Afzal were also present during the visit.
Hospital officials welcomed the Turkish representative’s assurance of cooperation, expressing hope that engagement with TİKA could help strengthen neonatal and paediatric healthcare services and improve access to modern medical technologies.
The visit provided an opportunity for both sides to explore future collaboration in child healthcare, although no specific funding commitment or formal agreement was announced.
