7, April 2005	Thursday	27 Safar 1426

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ISLAMABAD, April 6: British High Commissioner Mark Lyall Grant has expressed concern over the high rate of maternal deaths in South Asian region and called for joint efforts by governments and international donors to reverse the trend.“It is distressing that in the 21st century, there are still regions in the world, where millions of women and children die of curable diseases because of lack of awareness, poor health conditions, and inadequate medical facilities”, Mr Grant said.

In his message on the occasion of World Health Day, released by the British High Commission here Wednesday, Mr Grant said: “Every human being has the right to live a healthy life”.

Unfortunately, the high commissioner said, South Asian health statistics are poor. In Pakistan alone, over a half million children die each year before their fifth birthday, and around 25,000 women die through childbirth.

Apart from health factors, poverty, social exclusion, lack of education and violence against women, are also powerful causes of maternal deaths, he added.

“It is the responsibility of governments and international donors to join hands in reversing this trend, which effectively robs our world of such promising human resource, and inflicts so much suffering.”

The United Kingdom, through the Department of International Development (DFID) and British Council, is an active partner in Pakistan’s developmental efforts, he said. The UK is fully committed to help Pakistan achieve its Millennium Development Goals, one of which is to provide better health services to the citizens of Pakistan.

DFID Country Assistance Plan pledges 238 million pound sterling over the next three years, with a special emphasis on improving service delivery in the health sector. DfID has also recently embarked upon a project for improving maternal and neo- natal health prospects in Pakistan. We need to make every mother and child count.

DFID Pakistan is currently working with the Government of Pakistan and other partners to design a programme to improve maternal and new-born health.

In Pakistan each year, about 25,000 women die from complications of pregnancy and childbirth, and at least 300,000 children die in the first year of life.

Working in support of the government’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), and alongside international donors and local NGOs, this programme aims to reduce deaths of women, and children who die in their first 5 years of life.

DFID welcomes the government’s ‘Islamabad Declaration’ made at the Public Health Forum on maternal and child health on April 1-2.

In addition to the direct causes of maternal and child death in Pakistan, many other factors contribute to death and ill health. These include family hesitancy in seeking care, lack of transport or money, and lack of well-equipped health facilities and trained staff, the message says.

Lives of so many women could be saved if they have access to a health worker with midwifery skills at childbirth. However, a skilled birth attendant supervises only about 18% of deliveries in Pakistan. DFID will support plans to increase the number of trained midwives, the high commissioner added.

Jane Edmondson, lead Health Advisor in DfID said in her message, “drawing upon evidence based best practice and integrating a rights-based approach, the new maternal and new- born health programme will support innovative solutions to address all these issues”.

This and other DFID support, such as for the national health facility, builds upon national, provincial and district programmes like the lady health worker programme, family planning programmes and immunisation programmes, she added.

Meanwhile the WHO Regional Director, Dr Hussein Gezairy, in his message said women are the most important segment of the society who play a pivotal role in the development of a family and society.