Public postnatal care missing in nearly all of Punjab

The country’s most populous province is often touted as the pinnacle of development in the country given the amount of financial resources it has at its disposal but quality healthcare for newborns seems to be missing.

As per documents obtained from the provincial health department by The Express Tribune, the province, which is home to more than 127 million people and has a growth rate of 2.53 per cent, has only 1 large public hospital dedicated to postnatal healthcare. Consequently, parents have to travel hundreds of kilometres from all over the province to Lahore just for a routine check up.

One such parent is Gulfam, a labourer from Bhawalnagar. “Even though our city has Basic Health Units (BHUs) and other public health centres, there is no dedicated hospital for newborns,” informed Gulfam, whose child was diagnosed with pneumonia.

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“Even the public hospitals in Multan are not adequate. Therefore, I had to bring my newborn son all the way to Lahore, just so he could be treated properly,” the distraught parent added.

Sakina Bibi, a resident of Rajanpur, is in a similar predicament. “My newborn daughter has a congenital hole in her heart and she cannot be treated anywhere in this entire province apart from Lahore. This is just cruel on the government’s part,” bemoaned Sakina Bibi, further adding that the provincial government needed to direct more funds for postnatal healthcare and treat it as a priority.

Asghar Ali, who belongs to Gujrat and was in Lahore for the treatment of his child’s hernia, agrees. “I have been visiting Lahore for the past 3 months to get my child treated,” a visibly torn Ali told The Express Tribune.

“If the provincial government directed public monies towards meaningful projects, parents like me would not need to come to Lahore just for a check up,” regretted Ali.

Ali’s concerns are also backed by data obtained from the provincial health department. As many as 5 to 7 per cent of children pass away before they can reach Lahore for adequate treatment. And, between 15 to 25 per cent of children born in Punjab die on a daily basis, given the poor standard of postnatal healthcare at BHUs, Rural Health Centres, Tehsil Headquarter Hospitals, and District Headquarter Hospitals.

When questioned about the glaring lack of postnatal healthcare in the country’s most populated province, Professor Dr Khalid Shah Khaga, a childcare specialist, said that the government has failed to protect the future generations. “Only private healthcare facilities have improved and they cater to a certain social class, whereas public hospitals have been left to fend for themselves. The government does not seem to care about the newborn babies born in rural or semi-urban areas of the province,” remarked Dr Khaga while talking to The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 19^th, 2023.