SRINAGAR – Pakistan’s Health Ministry, with the financial assistance and technical support of international donors, is strengthening the country’s health sector to fight the prevalence of various diseases and bring down mortality rates.
During his visit to Geneva for the 62nd session of the World Health Assembly (WHA), Pakistani Health Minister Mir Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani committed to implementing these health initiatives by providing better health care and equipping hospitals across Pakistan with better facilities. “International donors have pledged to provide their support in strengthening the health sector of Pakistan”, said Jakhrani.
The minister held meetings with several donor agencies and secured assistances toward building a “healthy Pakistan”. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) agreed to provide grants of US$27 million and $120 million, respectively, to support Pakistan’s fight against tuberculosis (TB) and to intensify immunization activities in Pakistan.
Close to 44 percent of the tuberculosis cases in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (Pakistan) are in Pakistan, which ranks eighth in the world among countries with a high prevalence of TB, according to the latest study by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
To improve child care development and bring down infant and maternal mortality rates in country, Jakhrani succeeded in obtaining a grant of $85 million from the UK.
The infant mortality rate in Pakistan is 77 per 1,000 live births and the maternal mortality rate ranges from 350 to 400 per 100,000 live births, the Pakistan Red Crescent Society reports.
The major reasons for the high maternal mortality rate include poor access to pre-natal care in remote areas and a shortage of trained oncology and obstetric attendants to cope with the 80 percent of births in Pakistan that take place at home. The WHO, which is already running various programmes in Pakistan, has also assured the Health Ministry it will provide assistance with additional medical resources and training to help reduce infant and maternal death rates.
During his visit to Geneva for the 62nd session of the World Health Assembly (WHA), Pakistani Health Minister Mir Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani committed to implementing these health initiatives by providing better health care and equipping hospitals across Pakistan with better facilities. “International donors have pledged to provide their support in strengthening the health sector of Pakistan”, said Jakhrani.
The minister held meetings with several donor agencies and secured assistances toward building a “healthy Pakistan”. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) and the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) agreed to provide grants of US$27 million and $120 million, respectively, to support Pakistan’s fight against tuberculosis (TB) and to intensify immunization activities in Pakistan.
Close to 44 percent of the tuberculosis cases in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (Pakistan) are in Pakistan, which ranks eighth in the world among countries with a high prevalence of TB, according to the latest study by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
To improve child care development and bring down infant and maternal mortality rates in country, Jakhrani succeeded in obtaining a grant of $85 million from the UK.
The infant mortality rate in Pakistan is 77 per 1,000 live births and the maternal mortality rate ranges from 350 to 400 per 100,000 live births, the Pakistan Red Crescent Society reports.
The major reasons for the high maternal mortality rate include poor access to pre-natal care in remote areas and a shortage of trained oncology and obstetric attendants to cope with the 80 percent of births in Pakistan that take place at home. The WHO, which is already running various programmes in Pakistan, has also assured the Health Ministry it will provide assistance with additional medical resources and training to help reduce infant and maternal death rates.
source: http://www.centralasiaonline.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment