Pakistan has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world: 260 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births in Pakistan. The emergency situations, especially floods and conflict, have greatly contributed to this scenario and impacted the country’s efforts to reduce maternal mortality and improve maternal health. These man-made and natural disasters have resulted in increased impoverishment, crowded living conditions and outbreak of hazardous diseases all across the country since long.
The recent report titled “the State of the World’s Mothers” launched by Save the Children has been written on the same lines and highlights the causes of maternal and child deaths in crisis settings. The repot ranks Pakistan at 147 out of 178 countries and mentioned it as one of the toughest places in South Asia to be a mother. This is mainly because of its weak mechanism for protecting health rights of women and children, especially during difficult situations.
The prevailing situation demands the utmost attention of relevant government departments to develop strong protection system for emergency situations to ensure that every mother and newborn has access to high quality healthcare. Pakistan is already at the verge of achieving MDGS 4 and 5 owing to the lack of basic healthcare facilities all across the country. Although there has been some progress in reducing child and maternal mortality rates but still a lot needs to be done to maintain the health standards at all levels.
To overcome the situation, especially in lieu of post-18th amendment, provincial governments should develop and implement effective national and local preparedness plans tailored to respond to the specific needs of mothers, children and babies to ensure the well-being of the whole nation.
AMINA SARWAR
Islamabad