‘Empowered Midwives Could Save More Lives’

News Desk

Quetta: The recently concluded 2023 Census has counted 241.9 million people in Pakistan, with an annual intercensal growth rate of 2.55 per cent, raising considerable concerns regarding continuing high rates of population growth and slow progress in bringing about any change in the last five years.

During the Media Coalition Meeting organised by the Population Council with the support of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the media has been called upon to play a pivotal role in urging federal and provincial governments to collaborate with family physicians and pharmacies in order to enhance access to contraceptives and family planning services.

Community Midwives (CMWs) and Lady Health Workers (LHWs) working in tandem to reduce the unmet need for family planning in rural communities in Sindh can be a game-changer for Pakistan: PCP Director

Population Council Senior Director of Programs Dr Ali Mir said that leveraging the untapped potential of Community Midwives (CMWs) is significant in providing family planning services, which can be a significant step towards helping impoverished rural women, who face higher unmet needs for family planning and accessibility challenges. These two areas can be game changers for Family planning (FP) service delivery and improving contraceptive prevalence rates (CPR).

Population Council Project Director Samia Ali Shah said that CMWs and Lady Health Workers (LHWs) working in tandem to reduce the unmet need for family planning in rural communities in Sindh can be a game-changer for Pakistan.

Samia observed that the best time for family planning counselling and service provision is during women’s visits to CMWs for antenatal (ANC), natal and postnatal care (PNC). Dr Ali Mir further stated that the media can advocate for improving access to family planning services by highlighting the importance of involving the private sector and delivering services at the grassroots level through their reporting and media coverage.

The media can play a pivotal role in urging federal and provincial governments to collaborate with family physicians and pharmacies in order to enhance access to contraceptives and family planning services.

The Population Council, through its research, has shown that both approaches are workable. By engaging private sector providers, an increase was seen in clients who wanted to avail family planning services. It also led to a substantial increase in the sale of contraceptive products.

Participants has called on federal and provincial governments to ensure the supply of contraceptives and greater involvement of the private sector and community health workers, i.e., LHWs and CMWs, in family planning service provision.

They also agreed to play a positive role in increasing awareness around enhancing access to reproductive health information and services for married couples in Pakistan as media campaigns could impress upon the governments to ensure the availability of contraceptive and trained staff at all health outlets. APP