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Friday March 29, 2024

Girls in Pakistan don’t receive full course of vaccinations: experts

By our correspondents
November 19, 2017

Pakistan’s girls continue to be less likely to receive a full course of vaccinations than boys of the same age. Even though the latest data shows a narrowing of the gender gap in immunisation, the persistence of this inequality for three decades means that young girls and women are more vulnerable to preventable illnesses, health experts and government officials conceded on Saturday.


Worryingly, there has been an overall decline in demand for the treatment of diarrhea and pneumonia for both sexes over the past three decades with the extent of the drop being much larger for females. This means that female children are also less likely to receive treatment for these diseases than in the past, they said while speaking at two-day conference on health and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the Aga Khan University.


The conference, titled ‘Pakistan’s Challenges of Health and Nutrition in the Context of Sustainable Development Goals: Issues and Progress’, was organised by the Ministry of Health Services and Regulation, WHO and the Aga Khan University, and it was attended by DG Health Pakistan Dr Assad Hafeez, eminent pediatricians, health and nutrition experts and researchers.


Experts pointed out that the worsening of key indicators related to female health, education and social development was a key issue holding back Pakistan’s ability to meet global targets under the SDGs.


Pakistan has incorporated 169 targets under the SDGs into long-term planning frameworks such as Vision 2025 and the National Health Vision 2016-2025.


Researchers emphasised that young girls in Pakistan continue to be less likely to receive a full course of vaccinations than boys of the same age. Even though the latest data shows a narrowing of the gender gap in immunisation, the persistence of this inequality for three decades means that young girls and women are more vulnerable to preventable illnesses. “A lack of attention to female health and education both reflects and perpetuates a feudal, patriarchal mindset in society. This limits the ability of Pakistani women to participate in the national development process and has cross-cutting and far-reaching impacts on our social progress,” said Dr Zulfiqar A Bhutta, founding director of the Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health at the AKU.


In presentations on Pakistan’s efforts to combat child malnutrition, speakers noted that the country had not made encouraging progress. Even though the proportion of children who are underweight has declined slowly, one in three young children continue to have low weight for their age.