CHITRAL, May 10 The high rate of maternal death has been arrested in the district and mothers enjoy comfortable healthcare, claims a medical expert.

Dr Abdul Karim while talking to Dawn, on the occasion of the World Mother's Day, that the Aga Khan Health Service Pakistan (AKHSP) was providing basic healthcare in the district since its inception in 1960s.

“Primary healthcare is being provided to the people aimed at reducing the high rate of mortality among women during childbirth,” he said, claiming that the rate of maternal death had been reduced to almost zero in the areas covered by the AKHSP.

Dr Karim, who is medical superintendent Aga Khan Medical Centre Booni, said that after achieving the targets, the AKHS had upgraded the primary healthcare to secondary healthcare while for the remote areas they had launched a five-year project named the Chitral Child Survival Project.

He said that the project would reduce the neonatal and maternal mortality rate in the areas which had not been covered by the AKHSP or the health department of the government.

MAMMALS PRESERVATION Chitral is endowed with a rich variety of biodiversity which can be gauged from the fact that 45 species of mammals have been recorded in the district which is about half of the total number of species found in the province but a large number of them are endangered which nee preservation.

According to a biodiversity expert, the wild animals commonly found in the area included Himalayan ibex, Kashmir markhor, Pallas' cat, stoat and wolf. He said that mostly endangered species were Kashmir markhor and snow leopard which had been saved from extinction.