Pakistan's National Incubation Centre Hosts Groundbreaking Health Symposium on Women's Wellbeing

The National Incubation Centre (NIC) in Peshawar, Pakistan hosted a health awareness symposium with the theme "Psychological & physical wellbeing of working women" where clinical specialists discussed urgent challenges endangering the physical & mental health of women.

According to a press release, Saira Qureshi, Executive Board Member of the Pakistan-US Alumni Network (PUAN) KP Chapter, organised the event with assistance from the US Mission and support from PUAN. According to a news release, US Consul General Peshawar Panfilo Marques attended the event as a "Guest of Honour" with his staff, which also included Ms. Monica Davis (Public Affairs Officer) and others. Rakhshanda Naz, the Ombudsperson KP for Women Harassment at Workplace and a specialist in social development, also attended the occasion.

It was a first-of-its-kind health awareness symposium held in Peshawar, according to Saira Qureshi, a woman entrepreneur who owns Subrung Fashion, an IVLP alumna, a SABIT alumna, and a former executive member of the Women Chamber of Commerce & Industry Peshawar (WCCIP).

Recent events, such as the COVID-19 infection and its impact on people's mental health, ongoing financial stress, and climate change, such as recent incidents of severe heat waves since last few years, are all having an adverse effect on women's health. In an effort to care for their families in all of these stresses, women often neglect their own needs, as observed by Saira.

She stated that this was a pilot project that had begun in Peshawar, and that as time went on, its scope would be expanded by replicating it in other places and including students who also needed counselling to prevent the negative effects of studying on their mental and physical health, counselling sessions for women entrepreneurs, etc.

practising specialists Dr. Rafiq Afridi, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at RMI, Dr. Zaira Harum, Gynaecologist Women Medical Officer at Government Maternity Hospital Peshawar, Dr. Bilal Khan, Assistant Professor and Head of the Physiotherapy Department at RMI, Dr. Abdul Mannan, Resident Dermatologist at HMC Peshawar, and Lubna Naeem, Clinical Psychologist at Shaukat Khanam Memorial Cancer Hospital. As a panellist and expert, Raveena, a physical trainer at Fit Mania Gym, participated in the discussion.

Many participants attended the event from various backgrounds. The US Consul General gave mementos to all of the clinical panellists, visitors, and the event coordinator in appreciation for their services to society.