Karachi, October 1: For improving the life of mothers and children in Pakistan, the Ministry of Health and Population Welfare signed a historic “Karachi Declaration on Scaling up MNCH-FP Best Practices in Pakistan” at Avari Towers, Karachi. This signing ceremony was witnessed by representatives from Provincial Health and Population Welfare Ministries, Government of AJ&K, FATA, Government of Gilgit Baltistan, donor agencies and development partners.

Presenting the country situation on maternal and reproductive health, Dr Nabeela Ali, Chief of Party for PAIMAN Project, acknowledged that Pakistan has steadily improved maternal health and family planning services over time however the progress has been limited due to absence of a holistic approach and poor use of evidence for policy. Pakistan has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world with estimates varying from 276 to 750^[1] deaths per 100,000 births.   The tragedy, and opportunity, is that most of these deaths and disabilities can be prevented through known, evidence-based Best Practices. Prof Dr Zulfiqar Ali Bhutta, pointed out that the situation for newborn and child health is also not very encouraging, with child mortality rate of 94 per 1,000 live births^[2], the country witnesses around 300,000 deaths of children under the age of five every year.

 International health experts on maternal and child health from USA and Bangladesh while sharing Global evidence on MNCH said that despite many challenges, examples of success in improving indices exist in the regional countries, many of whom have demonstrated remarkable progress by adopting simple yet highly effective practices. An expert committee represented by government officials, donor agencies, development sector partners and subject specialist shortlisted ten low cost key interventions that can substantially improve the health of mothers and children in Pakistan. The two day Policy Seminar, Scaling up MNCH-FP Best Practice in Pakistan, at Avari Towers, Karachi deliberated on these Best Practices and developed an action plan for their implementation at Provincial and District levels. This historic event was organized with support from USAID by White Ribbon Alliance Pakistan (WRA-P). WRA-P is an independent, non-profit, non-political professional organization established in December 2006 under Societies Act–1860.

Dr Mumtaz Askar, DG (Technical) MOPW reiterated that Government of Pakistan has taken effective medium and long term measures to ensure that women and children enjoy their right to life and health in Pakistan and that the country achieves the Millennium Development Goals 4&5.Nayyar Agha, Secretary Population Welfare and Saleem Azam, Joint Secretary Health congratulated the organizers and ensured the availability of resources for MNCH-FP Best Practices and development of a robust monitoring/evaluation system. National and International partners were requested to prioritize the proceedings of the “Karachi Declaration” and support the Government in this context.