As the deadline for the Millennium Development Goals is fast approaching, the global development organizations are synchronizing their efforts to report their achievements in development. In the context of MDG 4 which pertains to maternal, newborn child healthcare, the global partners, WHO, UNICEF, World Bank Group, and UN-DESA Population Division jointly released the Levels and […]
Undernutrition: An unfinished agenda
“Nutrition is crucial to both individual and national development. The evidence in the Lancet Series on Maternal and Child Nutrition furthers the evidence base that good nutrition is a fundamental driver of a wide range of developmental goals. “The post 2015 sustainable development agenda must put addressing all forms of malnutrition at the top of […]
HMIS/ICT in Support of MCH-Care
As pointed out earlier in my blog on a new strategy for immunization incl. the polio campaign, the use of linking District and Provincial healthcare management with local healthcare providers via Information & Communication Technology (ICT), keeping them informed for and about disease prevention, as well as prevalence, can be effectively used in Mother-& Child-Healthcare […]
The post-devolution family planning crisis
Pakistan is a country of 180+ million people, with a wavering economy of merely 3% GDP growth as compared to many Asian countries which are consistent at 7%. The political instability, war on terrorism, tense relations with the neighbors and dearth of macro and micro economic reforms have led the country into depths of poverty: economic […]
Measles Outbreak: a need for action
After water and sanitation, childhood immunization is considered to be the greatest public health intervention, saving millions of lives each year. Childhood vaccination is one of the simplest and the most cost-effective objective of an efficient health system. Yet the recent havoc that Measles has played in Pakistan tells a different story. It undermines the […]
Maternal Death – a Silent Emergency
The distinct roles and behaviors of men and women in a given culture, dictated by that culture’s gender norms and values, give rise to gender differences. Not all such differences between men and women imply inequity but they do give rise to gender inequalities – that is, difference between men and women which systemically empower […]
Cervical Cancer Crisis Card launched
New Government must tackle cervical cancer that Crisis Card shows kills 7,000 women Pakistan every year from cervical cancer. Australia provides a global model to tackle the disease. More women die of cervical cancer in India than anywhere in the world. India along with China, Brazil, Bangladesh and Nigeria represent over 50% of the global […]
Sexual Rights in the Marital Relationship: A Community based KAP survey in District Hyderabad, Sindh
In Pakistan, marriage is recognized as a legal, social and religious relationship. It is also the only relation in which sexual contact and reproduction is considered permissible and appropriate, especially for women. Most marriages in Pakistan are immediately followed by pregnancy and child birth, while various studies have highlighted the burden of adverse health outcomes […]
International Women’s Day
Heartfile, true to the 2013 theme of International Women’s Day – ‘A Promise is a Promise: Time for Action to End Violence Against Women’ has been instrumental in reaching out to victims of violence in Pakistan. The story of a Heartfile Financing-supported patient I am about to share, although tragic, appropriately depicts today’s theme. Her […]
‘Ulama’ as Agents of Social Change
Perhaps one of the most challenging public health interventions in Pakistan is building awareness of healthy behaviors and its country-wide promotion, especially when it requires accessing women in rural areas of Pakistan. Some of the common challenges faced in this aspect include the vast diversity of religious sects, low literacy rate, deteriorating security situation, elitist […]