Planning Commission of Pakistan and United Nation’s Children Fund (UNICEF) jointly launched a national report on situational analysis of children and women in Pakistan.
The report pointed out that Pakistan’s Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) had declined significantly in recent years, but still it was relatively high (276 per 100,000 live births).
Speaking on the occasion as chief guest Deputy Chairman Planning Commission of Pakistan, Dr Nadeem Ul Haq said immense resources and efforts will be required to achieve targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) under which MMR should be reduced to 140 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births.
Giving reference of the report findings he said, more than a third of deaths of children under age five were caused by treatable illness and 60 percent are the result of water and sanitation-related diseases.
Malnutrition contributes to 35 percent of under-five deaths and more than 40 percent of children are either moderately or severely stunted; malnutrition rates in two provinces are above emergency levels.
The report stated that less than half of Pakistan’s children are fully immunised, immunisation rates have actually fallen in every province except Punjab, and at the end of 2011 Pakistan was one of four countries in the world where new polio cases were still emerging, despite massive nationwide immunization programme.
Nearly half of primary school-age children are not enrolled in schools, and among eligible girls the out-of-school proportion is closer to three-quarters.
Completion rates to the fifth year of schooling have actually declined in the past five years. Fifty-five per cent of all Pakistani adults are illiterate; among women the rate is closer to 75 percent.
The Situation Analysis shows that females in Pakistan face different problems including discrimination, exploitation and basic right to education.
It said women are also subjected to local customs and cultural practices which all too frequently restrict their mobility, and bar them from working.
The analysis said a child’s nutrition status is strongly correlated with the mother’s education, adding that children whose mothers have higher education are the least likely to be underweight and stunted.
The nutrition survey revealed that 58 percent of households nationally are food insecure with 29.6 percent living in the state of moderate or severe hunger.
Sindh appears as the most food-deprived province, with 72 percent of families being food insecure, it pointed out. It is followed by Balochistan where 63.5 percent of families face similar challenges while Khaber Pakhtunkwa has the highest proportion (68.5) of the population having access to affordable food in all seasons.
