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KARACHI:
Improvements in immediate newborn care and interventions that target
common killers like birth asphyxia offered in communities and rural
health facilities can dramatically change the number of babies surviving
their first month of life. At present one in 11 children in Pakistan
dies before reaching the age of five, half of these die within the first
month of life. Not only that “Pakistan has the eighth highest newborn
mortality rate in the world in line with countries such as Somalia,
Afghanistan, and Iraq with a low rate of reduction. This was stated by
eminent paediatricians while speaking at a seminar on strategies to
improve newborn survival. The seminar was hosted by Aga Khan University
and Save the Children, 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.
In his presentation Dr Zulfiqar Bhutta, Head, Division of Women and
Child Health, AKU further pointed out that within the newborn period,
asphyxia, prematurity and sepsis account for almost 90 per cent of all
deaths in the country,” This makes achieving the Millennium Development
Goal 4, to reduce child mortality by two-thirds by 2015, challenging.
Speakers in the meeting recommended investing in both community-based
and outreach care and facility-based care. In communities, the
interventions would focus on encouraging families to seek care and
teaching birth attendants immediate newborn care and resuscitation.
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.
“Seventy per cent of all facilities in Pakistan Dr. Bhutta stated do not
have adequate equipment for newborn resuscitation,” He emphasized the
need to provide proper equipment to those working at health facilities.
As part of improvements in facility-based care, staff would be trained
in emergency obstetric care and in neonatal care – to be able to handle
newborn and maternal cases from communities, he added. 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 per cent of all newborn
deaths,” Dr Bhutta remarked.
“This cannot be done by one organisation or one entity, 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,” said Dr Amanullah Khan,
Director Health, Save the Children stressing the importance of
public-private collaboration.
Speakers at the seminar included Dr Ahmad Faisal Shadoul, Chief of WHO,
Pakistan; Dr Andro Shilkadze, Chief of Field Office, UNICEF; Dr M. A.
Arif, General Secretary, Pakistan Paediatric Association; Dr Shershah
Syed, President, Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Pakistan;
Dr Nabeela Ali, Chief of Party, PAIMAN; Mr David Wright, Country
Director, Save the Children; Dr Arshad Chandio, Deputy National
Coordinator, National Programme for Family Planning and Primary Health
Care; and Dr Farooq Akhtar, National Program Manager, National Maternal,
Newborn and Child Health Programme. (PR) |
