PAKISTAN: Two Women Die Every Hour in Childbirth
Dawn reported on 30 July and The News International reported on 29 July on the persistence of maternal mortality and lack of skilled health providers. Two women die every hour during delivery whereas 60 to 70 per cent of babies are born at home and are delivered by untrained women, said Dr. Sadiqa Jaffery while speaking at a seminar at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre which was organized in connection with the International Midwifery Day. Dr. Shershah Syed, noted obstetrician, strongly criticised successive governments for their apathy towards issues related to public education and health, and said there was little hope things would change at the government level. “There are simply no tutors for midwifery available in the country. The government has never made an effort to provide midwifery students with proper literature. It was the Pakistan Medical Association that printed books in Urdu for students,” he said. “With the support of foreign donors, around 1,925 midwives from across the country have so far been trained in Karachi. The government has no credit for this. Even the money with which the Punjab government bought books on midwifery from the PMA was given by the UNFPA.” Read: Dawn