| QUO VADIS? Obstetrics & Gynaecology in Pakistan |
| Author(s) Name: Dr. Muhammad Tayyab |
Address of Correspondence
Muhammad Tayyab
Professor of Obstetrics & Gynaecology,
Allama Iqbal Medical College,
Jinnah Hospital, Lahore,
Dean, Faculty of Obs/Gyn. |
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According to WHO (2009) statistics, updated in 2001, Pakistan`s total population stood at 180,808,000, total expenditure on health per capita is 2.6% of Gross domestic product (GDP), life expectancy at birth is 62 years for men and 64 years for women, and probability of dying under 5 years is 87 per 1000 live births, maternal mortality ratio is 260 per 100,000 live births, contraceptive prevalence rate is 27%, 4+ antenatal visits are 28%, while births attended by a skilled health personnel are only 39%.
The United National Fund for Poverty Alleviation (UNFPA) (2009) estimates show that every year as many as 529,000 women die from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. Over 90% of these deaths take place in developing countries. Over 90% of these deaths take place in developing countries. Every 20 minutes a Pakistani woman dies of pregnancy related complications. About 40 % women get some kind of morbidity in pregnancy of which 15% suffer serious long term, and often debilitating complications, like genital tract fistulae.
In the past 60 years all successive governments have raised appropriate slogans and use election winning clichés and quoted figures of budgets in actual amounts to hoodwink the poor nation, but a simple fact of health budget of 2.6% of GDP is glaring testimony of the sad fact that health has not been a priority of any government to date. What is more alarming, the budget for education is also similar, and we all know that education in the masses drives good health seeking behaviour, empowerment, skills quality and enrichment of life. It is up to the Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of the country to raise the importance of these issues at all forums, and demand a many fold increase in budgets, not in actual amounts, but in % of GDP, to make it effective.[Download Complete Editorial.Click Download on top Right] |
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