Reproductive health helpline goes live

Facility launched with UN funding will assist pregnant women

ISLAMABAD: With the ongoing pandemic, most of Pakistan’s limited health resources have been diverted to deal with Covid-19. With the health structure threatening to collapse under the weight of over 151,843 Covid-19 cases, many women have been deprived of essential reproductive healthcare.

To address this, the Population Council, an international research and technical organisation working in the population and health field, has – in collaboration with the Association for Mothers and Newborns (AMAN) and the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (SOGP), and with financial support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) – launched a Reproductive Health Helpline to provide support and counselling to women on reproductive health issues.

The Helpline is now functional from Monday to Saturday, 9am-5pm. Women all over the country can call at 021-35205383 to consult senior and postgraduate gynaecologists and obstetricians who have been extensively trained for this noble cause.

According to Dr Azra Ahsan, President, AMAN, the Helpline offers help in various categories. “It will host a pool of health experts available through phone calls to provide medical assistance to women callers on family planning, maternal health, essential newborn care and reproductive health issues. Doctors will also provide medical advice on how pregnant women can keep themselves safe against the Covid-19; gender-based violence; proper nutrition; contraception and hygiene practices,” she says.

Adapting to the conditions brought about by Covid-19, the Helpline was launched via a Zoom meeting which gathered medical and public health experts.

Providing a brief introduction to the media, Dr Ali M Mir, Senior PrograDirector, Population Council, said, “For most women in reproductive ages, family planning is critical as other healthcare. Emergency response to Covid-19 outbreak means that resources for essential maternal, newborn health, gender, reproductive health services are diverted to deal with the outbreak.”

According to Dr Ali, many women have been unable to reach their doctors or health facilities due to the lockdown.

Highlighting the need for the Helpline, Samia Ali Shah, Project Director, Population Council, presented UNFPA data projecting the effect of Covid-19 on family planning, reproductive health and gender-based violence in Pakistan.

As it is, Pakistan has one of the highest rates of population growth and maternal and infant mortality in South Asia.

According to Samia, “Reproductive health and rights of married couples in Pakistan are likely to get sidelined during Covid-19. Maternal health services decline by up to 20%, would result in over 200,000 additional births, over 2,000 maternal deaths and about 58,000 still births in the next three months.”

With only eight million women using modern contraception, Pakistan currently has 5.5 million women with unmet contraceptive needs. This results in 3.7 million unintended pregnancies and 2.6 million induced abortions take place every year.

“Service disruptions of family planning services is likely to leave additional two million women with unmet needs for contraception,” Samia told the media.

Talking to The Express Tribune regarding if the Helpline has tried to cater to the shortfall in contraceptive supply by collaborating with pharmaceuticals, Samia responded that while the government is working on this as a long-term strategy, the Centre should also develop a short-term strategy. She said the Centre should procure contraceptives as it would be more economical in bulk.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 17^th, 2020.