Seminar held to create awareness of maternal healthcare issues

Islamabad: The National Institute of Population studies (NIPS) on Tuesday organised a seminar with the aim to create awareness around maternal health care issues and ending preventable maternal mortality.

It was highlighted that maternal health is one of the major targets under United Nations Sustainable Development Goal. However, the situation in the country is still very alarming.

Parliamentary Secretary Planning, Development and Reform, Kanwal Shauzab said that Pakistan is nuclear power but still a large number of women die while delivering a child. She said that incumbent government is trying its best to cope with this overwhelming issue, adding that as part of this effort, the government introduced an Early Child Marriage Bill to ban early age marriages in the country but “some segment ridiculed this cause,” she regretted. Despite that, she said the government is moving forward on this legislation as these issues relate to public. She hoped that the Bill would be approved soon.

Shauzab said the health care situation in far-flung areas of the country is very pathetic. “I was literally shocked when I visited a public sector hospital’s maternal health care room that was worse than a cattle room”, she added.

Parliamentary Secretary reaffirmed that health is among top priorities of the government. “When commitments are sincere, any goal can be achieved and we will prove this”, she said. The NIPS organised the event the in collaboration with White Ribbon Alliance and WHO.