Use of contraceptives can further improve in Pakistan

If contraceptive prevalence can rise by 9% in districts such as Rajanpur, Charsadda, Sanghar and Mardan, the uptake of family planning use can also happen throughout the country, said Dr. Ali Mir, Chairperson FALAH, a project of the Population Council at a Seminar titled ‘Family Planning Revitalised – The Falah Experience’ held recently in Islamabad. The Seminar was attended by representatives from the federal and provincial governments, USAID, donor organisations, academics, NGOs, and civil society.
 
The Falah was implemented by a consortium led by the Population Council and supported by USAID. It was aimed at improving maternal and child health by introducing the innovative concept healthy timing and spacing of pregnancies or “Birth Spacing” and to remove barriers to family planning by educating families on methods of family planning that are widely endorsed by religious community. The project trained more than 26,000 health care providers from public and private sectors to provide client centred reproductive health service, supported of the Lady Health Worker (LHW) program through a client-centred training regime, and trained several thousands more, including district managers, volunteers and religious leaders.
 
Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Social Sector Shahnaz Wazir Ali was the chief guest at the seminar, which marked the end of the project. She termed it a well-designed, carefully implemented project, which has brought a paradigm shift towards birth spacing by involving all stakeholders including religious leaders.
 
Shahnaz Wazir Ali said that lessons learnt from the project should not be squandered and should be build upon further and expanded to the rest of Pakistan. She stressed the need to build the communication skills of Lady Health Workers so that they become increasingly acceptable in areas with extremist mindset. Speaking at the occasion, the Guest of Honour Syeda Fiza Batool Gilani, the Goodwill Ambassador for Women Empowerment, highlighted the importance of the birth spacing as a successful model of public-private partnership.
 
“If we are to improve Pakistan’s reproductive health indicators with the limited resources available, especially after having had to face the tragic natural calamities, we have to think out of the box and innovatively, she said while pointing out that global scientific evidence clearly links birth spacing with improved health outcomes.
 
She said that the government alone cannot shoulder this burden. The efforts need to be supplemented by active participation of community based organisations, Pakistan’s development partners, the media, religious scholars and above all, people’s representatives.
 
Representing USAID on the occasion, Deputy Mission Director Karen Freeman said that is was indeed heartening to note that the Falah initiatives have been well-received and there is a growing recognition, including the religious community, that healthy timing and spacing of pregnancies contributes to the health of all mothers, children and overall development indicators.