‘Post-pregnancy family planning must for women’

The Sindh government has decided to give women the right to choose post-pregnancy family planning.

Sindh Health Minister for Population Welfare Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, along with the Population Welfare Department and Pathfinder held a press conference on Post Pregnancy Family Planning (PPFP) in Sindh.

The minister stated that PPFP policy will benefit the mother and child’s health and will drastically reduce maternal and child mortality.

The policy will include a complete package of wellness for the family which will include counseling for the parents, nutrition and supplements for the mother and child, and an increase in quality and access to health services.

Lady Health Workers (LHW’s), Community Midwives (CMW’s), health providers, and a family member will all be involved in PPFP to allow for more informed decision-making regarding family planning and parenthood.

Dr Pechuho remarked that it will be beneficial for the mother, family, and community if there is some level of planning that goes into how many children should be had by a family, at what age, with how much gap between each child, etc.

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The minister stated that all departments of the government should ideally be involved in this integral part of government policy and implementation of family planning, but especially the education, information, and security departments as well as the local governments.

She also thanked Pathfinder for the multiple meetings that they had with the Health Department and the minister and also for helping in creating this policy that will allow FP2030 to reach its goals.

FP2030 Costed Implementation Plan Focal Person Dr Talib Lashari presented the policy which detailed how currently 31% of the women are utilising family planning services, whereas there is 18% of them who wish to avail these services without there being any awareness or advertisement for this service.

Pathfinder International is driven by the conviction that all people, regardless of where they live, have the right to decide whether and when to have children, to exist free from fear and stigma, and to lead the lives they choose. As a global health organization with locally led, community-driven programs, we support women to make their own reproductive health decisions.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 4^th, 2021.