6,000 women die annually due to birth complications

Recent survey highlights that 50% of maternal mortality in Pakistan occurs in Punjab

LAHORE: In Punjab, 6,000 mothers die annually due to pregnancy-related complications and around 50% of maternal mortality in Pakistan occurs in Punjab. This was stated in the Pakistan Health and Demographic Survey-PDHS 2017-18.

Information on maternal mortality rate and other population issues was shared in a detailed presentation by Population Council Project Director Samia Ali Shah in a consultative meeting with journalists held recently in Lahore.

The meeting also discussed population dynamics and the status of population growth in Punjab, based on the latest national data and survey reports. The prime objective of the meeting was to familiarise journalists on population issues in the province and to highlight the existing opportunities and challenges that the region faces in terms of population growth.

The media men were also apprised of various population-related issues and how it impacts social and economic indicators, including maternal and child health, employment opportunities for youth and education crises in the province.

According to the Population Council, Punjab, with a population of 110 million, is equivalent to the world’s 12 most populous countries. The population of the province has grown five-fold since the country’s independence, from 20.5 million to 110 million.

Speaking on the occasion, Shah said that although Punjab has made some positive strides as compared to other provinces, with its high fertility rate it has also paid the price of population neglect. The province is yet to achieve universal education, health, employment and maternal health.

As per the PDHS Survey 2017-18, the total fertility rate in Punjab is 3.4 and has considerably decreased since the last survey in 2012-13.

Moreover, the province still has 3.3 million women with an unmet need for family planning. Contraceptive use has declined in Punjab in the past five years, further aggravating an already high fertility rate in the province. The contraceptive prevalence rate has dropped from 40.7% to 38% over the past five years. The unmet need for family planning has resulted in 2.4 million unwanted or mistimed pregnancies in Punjab which leads to 1.2 million induced and unsafe abortions and 1.2 million unwanted births.

Talking about rapid urban growth in Punjab and its impact on the environment, Ahmad Rafay Alam, an environmental lawyer and member of the Punjab Environmental Protection Council, highlighted the multi-faceted challenges of urban growth and presented data on the environmental and health hazards of fast-growing urbanisation in Lahore city.

Alam highlighted how the media can play an important role in bringing such issues to the attention of policymakers and the government.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 31^st, 2019.