Civil society and development experts should monitor government schemes to be initiated under the upcoming budget that aims to provide greater access to healthcare facilities.
The civil society should also analyse how the local government system might be used effectively in executing such schemes, speakers at a consultation on Maternal Newborn and Child Health said on Tuesday.
Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO) regional head Salman Abid said health indicators could not be improved until the government allocated more funds in this regard. He said the Economic Survey of Pakistan 2012-2013 showed that the government had spent 0.6 per cent of its GDP on health – the lowest in South Asia. With such a meagre amount of funds reserved for healthcare, it is not surprising that Pakistan had one of the highest mortality rates during childbirth in the world, Salman said. Mumtaz Hussain, a researcher, said, “The mortality rate in Pakistan in pregnancy is 90 times higher than that of a developed country. 500 children here die right after birth each day…most of them in rural areas.” He said the federal government had established a programme, Waseela-i-Sehat, under its social safety scheme.
Every poor family will be given Rs25,000 health insurance under this programme. The women will be issued cards for this, problems related to pregnancy will be covered under the scheme, he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 19th, 2014.