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The NGDS Pilot Project University of Karachi |
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˝ About the NGDS
Pilot Project ˝ The NGDS Team
˝ Subprojects
˝ Results
˝ Publications
˝ Links
˝ Homepage of Project
Director ˝ |
The NGDS Pilot Project URL: http://ngds-ku.org OR http://www.uok.edu.pk/projects/ngds
The NGDS Pilot Project e-mail: info(at the rate of)ngds-ku.org
Data collected on over 2500 children since
1998.
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Contact |
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DEAR PARENTS! Do you know that: |
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any pain and is often
accidentally |
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Project Director, the NGDS Pilot
Project e-mail OR Call: 926 1300-6 ext. 2380 During the first 10 years, whatever one teaches a child is
going to make a lasting impression. This site is dedicated to children of the
third millennium, in order to establish communication with the parents, the
teachers and the school-health professionals, so that the next generation
grows up with a sound mind in a sound body, capable of making independent
decisions based on creative thinking and critical analysis of all the factors
involved. |
surgery involving delicate nerves |
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Mission Statement
The NGDS Pilot Project is a goodwill,
public service endeavor conducted “Free of Charge” for the care and the
development of young persons to prepare them mentally, physically, emotionally
and morally for rewarding careers in the civil and the military services.
Background
A team of University of Karachi headed by Professor Dr. Syed Arif Kamal has undertaken a pilot project to establish "National Growth and Developmental Standards (NGDS)" for the Pakistani children under the directives of Governor Sindh/Chancellor, University of Karachi. Design of this project is undertaken after extensive contacts with local and international experts.
Healthy 4-11 years old children, having no complains before birth
and during the weaning period, studying in schools run by the Armed Forces are
measured and screened for anemia, cardiac problems and scoliosis (major causes
for growth retardation). The NGDS Team has detected stunting (short height for
age) as well as a number of cases involving scoliosis. Stunting, if detected in
preteen years, could be treated by a combination of sleep habits, diet,
exercise and, in extreme cases, by hormone therapy. Scoliosis, if left
untreated, produces cosmetic deformities and effects vital organs (e. g.,
heart, lungs) during adolescence. If detected early, it could be arrested with
a combination of braces and exercises. Most important of all, delicate surgery
involving spinal nerves may be avoided in most cases.
Chronological Developments
Since 1998, the NGDS Pilot Project is being successfully implemented at Army Public School, 'O' Levels, Karachi, Bahria College, MT Khan Road, Karachi and PAF Degree College, Base 'Faisal', Karachi, representative institutions of each wing of the Armed Forces of Pakistan. The anthropometric measurements taken are sitting height, standing height, mid-upper-arm circumference (MUAC), shoulder width and weight. Data have been collected on over 2500 children since the inception of this project. The children in these institutions are in a better-than-average health and represent a national sample.
Research carried out
by the NGDS Team has been reported in international journal as well as various
conferences, focusing IT, telemedicine, health-information technology,
complexity science, early childhood care and development. Papers were presented
in the Sixteenth International Biennial Conference of Pakistan Pediatric
Association, Karachi, February 14-17, 2002, National Telemedicine Conference,
organized by Technology Resource Mobilization Unit (TReMU), Ministry of Science
and Technology, Islamabad, June 22, 2002 and the Aga Khan University National
Research Symposium: Early Childhood Care and Development, Karachi, September
23-24, 2002. A seminar entitled "The NGDS Pilot Project: Documenting and
Modeling Growth of the Pakistani Children" was conducted for Postgraduate
Training Program, Department of Pediatrics, the Aga Khan University Medical
College, Karachi, on April 24, 2002. Seminars were, also, given for
Departments of Pediatrics of the Nishtar Medical College, Multan (Punjab), on
March 22, 2004, Frontier Medical College, Abottabad (NWFP) on August 27, 2005,
Dow University of Heath Sciences, Karachi on October 26, 2005, repectively. On
November 10, 11 and 13, 2006, faculty and students of Department of Special
Education, University of Karachi visited Growth Laboratory (now renamed as "The Syed Firdous Growth and Imaging Laboaratory") located in
Department of Mathematics. Training was given to obtain anthropometric
measurements of special children.
On March 23, 2002
General Perwaiz Musharraf, Chief of the Army Staff and President of Pakistan,
announced the launch of TAWANA PAKISTAN (Urdu version of "Strong
Pakistan"), a similar project for growth monitoring of rural girl child of
Pakistan. The methods, the techniques, the instruments and the softwares developed
by the NGDS Team have been demonstrated to the key officials of this project.
The NGDS height-measurement system was adopted for Tawana Pakistan
anthropometry studies. The NGDS Team, also, trained master anthropome-trists of
Tawana Pakistan.
Resources
Article for Parents: How to Guard
Against Curvatures of the Spinal Column in Children? Printable
Version PDF
Article for Parents: Moiré Fringe
Topography for the Detection of Scoliosis in Children Printable
Version PDF
Article for Parents: What Can You
Learn from the Way Your Child Walks? Printable
Version PDF
Original Paper: An Investigation
of Growth Profiles of the Pakistani Children PDF
Training Manual for Obtaining
Anthropometric Measurements PDF
Handout for Teachers PDF
Photo Gallery
Please visit the NGDS Photo Gallery.
Accomplishments
During the course of this project the NGDS Team has
developed:
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Human-rights
and ethical standards for conducting a research project involving minor
subjects and parents with little or no education |
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b) |
Inexpensive,
indigenously-built anthropometric instruments |
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c) |
Anthropometric
techniques for obtaining reliable measurements |
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d) |
A
method to generate a detailed growth profile of child based on heights of
biological father and biological mother, without using X rays |
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e) |
Moiré fringe topography apparatus (a
stereophotogrammetric technique) for somatotyping and screening of trunk
deformities |
Softwares are being developed to predict adult height, adult weight, stunting (short
height for age), wasting (short height for weight), biomass index (indicator
for obesity), underweight/overweight conditions, height velocity and rate of
weight gain, based on the standards released by CDC (Center for Disease
Control, Atlanta, USA) in May 2000.
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Updated: August 1, 2008 (0000h GMT)
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˝ About the NGDS Pilot Project ˝ The NGDS Team ˝ Subprojects ˝ Results ˝ Publications ˝ Links ˝ Homepage
of Project Director ˝ |
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