PESHAWAR: The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has delivered lifesaving healthcare equipment to improving mother and child health services in Mohmand tribal district.

“We shouldn’t forget the challenges we had before the advent of the coronavirus pandemic,” US Consul General Sebron Toney said during a virtual handing over ceremony held through video-link from Peshawar the other day.

The challenges are still there as women and children are suffering because of lack of basic health services, while the province’s healthcare system faces increased challenges with decentralisation of powers after the merger of the former tribal areas with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he said.

The equipment coupled with the specialised training the USAID recently imparted to 570 healthcare professionals from Mohmand, will help save lives, said Sebron Toney.

According to him, the assistance in shape of equipment will not only help doctors and nurses to save precious lives but will also reduce the financial burden on the government which is facing additional pressure due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The consignment includes hospital beds, bedside tables, patients’ trolleys, examination couches, oxygen masks, surgical equipment, weight machines and other medical supplies, according to a statement.

“This donation of new equipment for Mohmand district is one more step toward providing critical healthcare for those in need,” said Julie Koenen, Mission Director for USAID/Pakistan.

According to the 2017-18 Demographic and Health Survey of Pakistan which the USAID co-funded, more than half of children in the newly merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province were chronically malnourished and nearly one-third of pregnant women did not receive prenatal care.

USAID-supported programming is dedicated to improving the delivery of essential health services in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region, as well as preventing, detecting, and responding rapidly to infectious disease outbreaks in epidemic-prone areas, said Julie Koenen.

“The strength of our partnership is highlighted by this gracious donation of equipment, an act that will improve the lives of mothers and children of Mohmand district,” said additional secretary health Dr Irfanullah Mehsud.

He also said access to healthcare facilities remained a top priority for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2020