Through history, Pakistan has continued to grapple with a pressing public health crisis: maternal mortality. Around 8,300 women per year lose their lives to complications linked to pregnancy and childbirth, which is an alarming number.
The common causes of maternal deaths are post-partum haemorrhage, hypertensive diseases and sepsis. Nutritional deficiencies are also common amongst pregnant women. Similarly, service delivery requires improvement with the development of facility level health care workers and Lady Health Workers in the communities. Poor maternal health has resulted in high newborn deaths and still births.
To address this need, leading consumer healthcare company Haleon Pakistan is providing a two-year funding to UNICEF Pakistan to support UNICEF’s work on improving maternal health in marginalized areas and communities across the country. This is done through building the capacity of health care providers and providing trainings to Lady Health Workers in their communities, hence strengthening the healthcare system and the competencies of the healthcare providers, as well as educating pregnant women on their wellbeing. At the national level and through a multi-faceted approach, UNICEF promotes social and behavioural change by engaging policy makers, prominent health experts, managers, and leveraging broadcast media, digital engagement platforms to raise awareness and understanding on maternal and neonatal health in the Punjab province.
By supporting UNICEF Pakistan in addressing the root causes of maternal mortality and putting maternal health first, Haleon Pakistan hopes to contribute to make a lasting difference in the lives of women and children in Pakistan.
