KARACHI: Pakistan has the eighth highest newborn mortality rate in the world in line with countries such as Somalia, Afghanistan, and Iraq, disclosed Dr Zulfiqar Bhutta, Head of Women and Child Health Division, Aga Khan University during a seminar held on Tuesday.
The Aga Khan University and Save the Children hosted the seminar in collaboration with the Ministry of Health's National Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Programme and National Programme for Family Planning and Primary Health Care.Bhutta said asphyxia, premature cases and sepsis account for almost 90 percent of all infant deaths in the country.
Explaining the seriousness of infant mortality in Pakistan, he said one in 11 children in Pakistan die before reaching the age of five, and half of them die within the first month of life. He said the alarming number of newborn deaths in Pakistan is becoming a challenge in achieving the Millennium Development Goal 4 that aims at reducing child mortality by two-thirds by 2015.
"Seventy percent of all facilities in Pakistan do not have adequate equipment for newborn resuscitation," said Bhutta. He added that as part of improvements in facility-based care, staff would be trained in emergency obstetric care and in neonatal care, so that they could handle newborn and maternal cases from communities.
"Through community engagement and a change in household behaviour and social culture patterns, we can help create the demand for maternal and newborn care in community centres, and if we are able to address the three main causes of death in newborns, we can avoid up to 70 percent of all newborn deaths," he said.
Stressing the importance of public-private collaboration, Save the Children Director Health Dr Amanullah Khan said the challenge could only be achieved by mutual efforts. "This cannot be done by one organisation or one entity, and we need to establish partnerships, develop coalitions and join hands to take this process forward. The Ministry of Health will lead this campaign and we need to support them in any way we can," he said.
Speaking at the seminar, WHO Pakistan Dr Ahmad Faisal Shadoul, UNICEF Field Office chief Dr Andro Shilkadze, Pakistan Paediatric Association General Secretary Dr MA Arif, Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Pakistan President Dr Shershah Syed, PAIMAN head Dr Nabeela Ali, Save the Children Country Director David Wright, National Programme for Family Planning and Primary Health Care Deputy National Coordinator Dr Arshad Chandio and National Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Programme Manager Dr Farooq Akhtar recommended investing in community-based and facility-based care.
They said in communities, the interventions would focus on encouraging families to seek care and teaching birth attendants’ immediate newborn care and resuscitation and essential practices, such as drying and wrapping the baby immediately after birth and breastfeeding within the hour were also recommended along with the importance of recognising danger signs in newborns and quickly referring them to an appropriate health care provider or facility as needed. Daily Times - staff report
Explaining the seriousness of infant mortality in Pakistan, he said one in 11 children in Pakistan die before reaching the age of five, and half of them die within the first month of life. He said the alarming number of newborn deaths in Pakistan is becoming a challenge in achieving the Millennium Development Goal 4 that aims at reducing child mortality by two-thirds by 2015.
"Seventy percent of all facilities in Pakistan do not have adequate equipment for newborn resuscitation," said Bhutta. He added that as part of improvements in facility-based care, staff would be trained in emergency obstetric care and in neonatal care, so that they could handle newborn and maternal cases from communities.
"Through community engagement and a change in household behaviour and social culture patterns, we can help create the demand for maternal and newborn care in community centres, and if we are able to address the three main causes of death in newborns, we can avoid up to 70 percent of all newborn deaths," he said.
Stressing the importance of public-private collaboration, Save the Children Director Health Dr Amanullah Khan said the challenge could only be achieved by mutual efforts. "This cannot be done by one organisation or one entity, and we need to establish partnerships, develop coalitions and join hands to take this process forward. The Ministry of Health will lead this campaign and we need to support them in any way we can," he said.
Speaking at the seminar, WHO Pakistan Dr Ahmad Faisal Shadoul, UNICEF Field Office chief Dr Andro Shilkadze, Pakistan Paediatric Association General Secretary Dr MA Arif, Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Pakistan President Dr Shershah Syed, PAIMAN head Dr Nabeela Ali, Save the Children Country Director David Wright, National Programme for Family Planning and Primary Health Care Deputy National Coordinator Dr Arshad Chandio and National Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Programme Manager Dr Farooq Akhtar recommended investing in community-based and facility-based care.
They said in communities, the interventions would focus on encouraging families to seek care and teaching birth attendants’ immediate newborn care and resuscitation and essential practices, such as drying and wrapping the baby immediately after birth and breastfeeding within the hour were also recommended along with the importance of recognising danger signs in newborns and quickly referring them to an appropriate health care provider or facility as needed. Daily Times - staff report
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