Immunization crisis may develop due to economic crisis during COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 pandemic is a global health crisis with 61, 149,391 confirmed cases and 370,478 deaths till 29May, 2020 [1]. This pandemic has shattered many economies with an estimated loss of $5.8 trillion to $8.8 trillion globally. This economic loss can result in reduction in funds to World Health Organization. Unfortunately, United States of America (USA) has announced termination of any further funding to WHO which can lead to another global health crisis[2]. As WHO is a voluntary funding based organization its main donor are America, China, Japan, Germany and United Kingdom. Among these USA is the main donor with a contribution of $115.8million alone followed by China $57.4 million, Japan $41million, Germany $29.1 million and UK $21.9 million [3].  America’s termination of funding can put WHO and child health programs in serious crisis. Among many programs run by WHO one of the most important program is immunization of children. Immunization coverage programs  save 2-3 million livesper year causing decline in measles related deaths, eradication of polio, surveillance of rotavirus, BCG and DTaP vaccination in children[4]. It is estimated that during MillenniumDevelopment Goal (MDG) there is overall decline in child related mortalities due to malaria, measles, diarrhea, AIDS and meningitis [5]. Remarkable results are achieved with measles are diarrhea immunization programs causing a decline in death rate by 73% and 80% respectively. According to a study with current success rate diarrhea related deaths can be virtually eliminated by 2030. Another successful program is “End Polio” program which eradicated polio from world except from Pakistan and Afghanistan [4][6]. This termination of funds to WHO can waste all previous efforts in developing countries. On the other hand despite of all efforts still 19.4 million children did not received prescribed dose of vaccines. Data analysis revealed among these  60% of children belong to 10 developing countries namelyAngola, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Viet Nam [4]. These countries mainly rely on foreign funding and Non-Government Organization (NGOs) for child health care programs.

A Comparative Study of Contractual and Regular Teachers’ Professional Attitude Towards Job Satisfaction and Job Performance

The main purpose of this study was to determine the relationship among professional attitude of teachers, their job satisfaction and job performance and their comparison between regular and contractual teachers in Pakistan. The study was delimited to the contractual (SSEs) and regular (SSTs) teachers and head teachers of government secondary schools of Punjab province, the most populated province of Pakistan. It was carrying mixed-methods research approach i.e. data were qualitative and quantitative. For the qualitative data, an interview protocol was designed for the executives i.e. DPIs, Addl. DPIs, EDOs and DEOs. Some open-ended questions were also included in the questionnaire to collect the qualitative data of the study. The quantitative data were collected from a sample of 332 regular teachers, 313 contractual teachers and 645 head teachers of secondary schools through developing three questionnaires on five point rating scales; two for the teachers (to measure their professional attitude and job satisfaction) and one for the head teachers (to rate teachers job performance). The instruments were duly validated through expert opinions and the reliability was established through pilot study on a small sample in two districts Kasur and Lahore. The reliability of the final questionnaires was established at .784, .780 and .944 for professional attitude, job satisfaction and job performance respectively. The quantitative data of the two questionnaires were analyzed on the basis of mean, standard deviation, Independent Samples t-test (Levene’s test and 2-tailed t-test) and Pearson Correlation. Qualitative data were analyzed by converting raw data into frequencies and placing in identical categories of responses. Results were presented in tables and with frequencies and the opinion of respondents was calculated in percentage to draw the inferences. The key findings of the study revealed that professional attitude of teachers had positive relationship with job satisfaction and job performance; job satisfaction of teachers had positive relationship with their job performance. Professional attitude in combination with Job Satisfaction appeared to have more significant positive relationship with job performance. Regular SSTs teachers had better professional attitude, job satisfaction and job performance level than contractual SSEs teachers; female teachers had relatively better professional attitude, job satisfaction and job performance level than male teachers and urban teachers had more positive professional attitude, job satisfaction and job performance level than rural teachers. Majority of the teachers liked their children or relatives to join teaching profession; although they showed dissatisfaction with the existing pay scale and financial package for teachers and suggested for recruitment of teachers on regular basis. Most of the head teachers disagreed that teachers should be recruited on contract basis. They thought that contractual teachers do not perform well due to their low salary package and unsecured job. The educational managers i.e. EDOs, DEOs, DPI and Addl. DPI were of the view that regular (SSTs), female and urban teachers have more positive attitude towards teaching profession, better job satisfaction and job performance than their contractual (SSEs), male and rural teachers counterparts.