Killing our children

Acull is the selective slaughter of a part of a population. Typically it is used in respect of controlling animal populations, but it is not overstating the case to say that there is currently a cull going on in Pakistan. It is a cull of humans, and specifically human children. Children are dying across the country from what amounts to willful and criminal neglect by this and successive governments. It is a tragedy on a national scale that receives little or no publicity, being reduced to no more than a footnote to the daily news. Research conducted by this newspaper and involving a range of governmental and non-governmental sources reveals that 352,000 children under five die every year in the country. They die from a range of preventable causes. There were 1,800 deaths from measles in the four provinces in 2014. Pakistan has the highest rate globally of first-day deaths and stillbirths at 40.7 per 1,000; a staggering 28,000 women die in childbirth every year. About 50 per cent of mothers give birth without a skilled attendant being present.

Not all deaths are preventable, and some children would die anyway as would some mothers as a result of pregnancy-related complications, but many are preventable. Why they are not prevented is a matter of political apathy, a failure to invest in the services and skills that would save the lives of countless thousands. Where services exist, they are insufficient. The infant mortality rate in developing nations shows a steady decline — but not so in Pakistan where it has been static since 1994. The National Programme for Family Planning and Primary Healthcare has failed to meet its goal because of a shortage of funds and manpower. The meetings that should be convened for all stakeholders in the provision and reception of healthcare are not held. There is a shortfall of 30,000 community midwives in Sindh and Punjab alone, and it would take Rs77 billon to bring the Lady Health Worker service up to strength. The cull continues, expect no early change.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th,  2015.

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