Lancet Series on Health in Pakistan Features New Research on Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health

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By: Sarah Blake, MHTF consultant

The Lancet has published a new series on health transitions in Pakistan with a focus on four priority issues for Pakistan’s health system:

First, the country’s performance and future after the 18th amendment to the Constitution in which the federal Ministry of Health was abolished. Second, reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health. Third, non-communicable diseases and injuries. And fourth, recommendations for future health reforms.

In the second paper in the series, “Reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health in Pakistan: challenges and opportunities is a systematic review,” a research team led by our colleague, Professor Zulfiqar Bhutta, analyzes Pakistan’s progress toward Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5, and focuses on scaling up interventions using delivery platforms to reach poor and rural populations through community-based strategies. The authors conclude that a successful scale-up of a package of seven RMNCH interventions would have a major effect on health in Pakistan, reducing maternal and child deaths by nearly 60 percent and reducing stillbirths by 40 percent.

In addition to the research that makes up the series, The Lancet podcast features a discussion with Professor Bhutta on the health situation in Pakistan, including the critical need to expand access and reduce inequalities in coverage of key health interventions throughout the country.