KHAR: Local tribesmen and health experts on Friday showed concern over the growing infant and maternal mortality rates in Bajaur Agency and called upon the government and nongovernmental organisations to accelerate efforts for providing basic health facilities to women and children to effectively address the alarming situation.

The concern was expressed during a daylong seminar on mother and child health, the first of its kind in Bajaur, at the Agency Headquarters Hospital here.

Fata-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Programme had organised the event in collaboration with USAID.

Tribesmen, elders, political workers, religious scholars, women activists, senior officials of the administration and health department, and representatives of World Health Organisation and Unicef showed up in large numbers.

Bajaur Agency additional political agent Tariq Khan, agency surgeon Dr Zakir Hussain, tribal elders Malik Abdul Aziz and Malik Mohammad Younas, religious scholars Maulana Mohammad Hanif, Maulana Ahmad Noor and Fata-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Programme agency coordinator Dr Misal Khan Afridi spook on the occasion.

The speakers said health facilities in the agency was insufficient and in bad shape by and large to the misery of the local population.

The speakers said Bajaur had the highest maternal mortality rate in the country.

Agency Surgeon Dr Zakir Hussain said a large number of women in the entire agency, especially in the remote and far-flung areas, died during and after pregnancy and childbirth due to lack of health care.

He said lack of access to skilled medical care during childbirth, infrastructure, social barriers and unawareness were the major causes of high maternal mortality rate in the agency.

Dr Hussain called for better public awareness of family planning, which, he said, played a key role in provision of reproductive health services.

“Tangible steps to control increasing of population are the need of the hour. This is the responsibility of all citizens, especially elders and religious and political leaders, to come forward and highlight the importance of family planning. Proper birth spacing is vital for the people’s welfare,” he said.

Religious scholars Maulana Mohammad Hanif and Maulana Ahmad Noor highlighted the importance of family planning in Islam and said Islam was not against family planning nor did it prohibit birth spacing.

They said family planning was permissible in Islam as small family could ensure better education and health services to its members.

Dr Misal Khan Afridi of Fata-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Programme said the USAID-funded programme, which recently launched in Bajaur Agency, was working in seven districts of Malakand division and four Fata agencies.

He said the programme focused on mother and children health care and would soon launch several schemes to provide health facilities to women and children on their doorstep.

Dr Misal said under the programme, 20 women from various remote areas in the agency had been selected for an 18 months basic training of maternity services, which would enable them to operate maternity clinics in their respective areas.

He said reasonable stipend would be given to the trainees, which would continue for six months after the completion of the training.

Political Agent Tariq Khan said that the government was making all possible efforts to improve mother and children health care facilities in the agency.