Daily Times

KARACHI: Helpline Trust and Indus Earth Trust have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate in raising awareness about the perils of using gutka.

The organisations resolved to share advocacy material and human resource to inform people they work with about the hazards of gutka consumption.

Gutka, which is prepared from a mix of tobacco and other hazardous and unhygienic substances has been associated with rising incidents of oral cancer. Sindh High Court had placed a ban on its preparation and sale
in November 2015 but its sale and use is still rampant.

The MoU was signed by the founder Trustee of Helpline Trust, Hamid Maker, and Founder and CEO of IET, Shahid Sayeed Khan. Helpline Trust has been carrying out advocacy campaigns within communities and organises doctors’ visits to schools in communities where its use is rampant to bring awareness about its consequences.

Indus Earth Trust has also undertaken the task of bringing social awareness among the communities with whom it is engaged in for development work. Helpline Trust works in the domain of consumer rights and awareness, while Indus Earth Trust is a development organisation that works in the neglected coastal communities in Sindh and Balochistan.