ISLAMABAD – In defiance of the recommendations of the Millennium Development Goals set by the United Nations, maternity services, including labour rooms and delivery kits that are essential for the newborn and the mother, are absent in Basic Health Units all over the country.
Around 40 percent of 108 BHUs monitored during November 2010 reported absence of these essential services, Free and Fair Election Network’s monthly Health Institution Monitor released on Sunday reported. FAFEN’s monitors visited BHUs in 75 districts nationwide, of which 43 were monitored in 28 districts of Punjab, 28 in 18 districts of Sindh, 26 in 20 districts of KP, nine in seven districts of Balochistan, and two in seven agencies of FATA.
LABOUR ROOMS AND DELIVERY KITS: Better equipped, 95 percent of those monitored in Punjab had a labor room while 89 percent, 73 percent and 43 percent in Balochistan, KP and Sindh did not have them. Only 2 BHUs in FATA were properly equipped for childbirth. More than one fourth BHUs (26 percent) nationwide lacked a delivery kit with the greatest percentage (46 percent) in KP, followed by Sindh (32 percent), Balochistan (25 percent) and Punjab (12 percent).
BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE: Basic requirements of infrastructure were met by most BHUs, however, considerable deficiencies were noticed in terms of facilities like washrooms and clean drinking water. Essential equipment and services like working oxygen tents, sterilizers, stretchers and wheelchairs were also missing in many of the observed health facilities.
FEMALE STAFF: Female staff was present in 86 percent of BHUs all over the county. All the BHUs monitored in Punjab and FATA and 96 percent in KP had female staff to attend to female patients. However, in Sindh and Balochistan, 37 percent and 33 percent of BHUs did not have the female staff.
STERLIZERS, STRETCHERS, FREE MEDICINES: Sterilizers were absent in 21 percent of the observed BHUs. Oxygen tents, were missing in more than half (53 percent) of the monitored facilities. Only 56 percent of the monitored BHUs in the country had stretchers.
Similarly, a mere 29 percent had wheelchairs. Free of cost medicines were available in 96 percent of the monitored BHUs. In addition, medicines were found to be in stock in the in-house pharmacies of 95 percent of the BHUs monitored nationwide.
GOVERNMENT OVERVIEW: Weak government supervision was evident across the country and only 73 visits by elected and public officials were reported at the BHUs during the last 3 months. MNAs and MPAs visited BHUs in Sindh only.
The bulk of visits, 33, were made by government officials, while EDO Health made the second highest number of visits (29). In a span of three months, most reported oversight visits were reported from Punjab (40), followed by Sindh (14), KP (12) and Balochistan (5).
FATA was neglected in this regard, as only two visits by government officials were reported at the two BHUs monitored by FAFEN.
