Health In Pakistan
While entering into the new millennium, Pakistan needs to assess its position on the health status of its nation. The health of its 130 million citizens is among the poorest in the world and its number is growing at the rate of 2.6% per annum1. At this rate the population will double by the year 2027. Is the country prepared for such a challenging burden?
Forty percent of children under-five-years of age are malnourished. Twenty-nine percent of population lives in poverty and 12% is surviving on less than Idollar a day2. Lack of proper access to water and sanitation1 translates into high incidence of infectious disease, which take its toll on its children. One out of every tenth child born, does not live to see his/her first birthday. Twenty-five percent of all children born are of low birth weight, i.e., less than 2.5 kg. These children are usually born to mothers who are malnourished. Almost 50% women of childbearning age suffer from nutritional anemia2. In contrast to Western women, all Pakistani women are at increased risk of dying due to pregnancy related causes. Maternal mortality rate in Pakistan is estimated to be between 340 and 600 per hundred thousand live births3,4. This means that one pregnant woman dies eveiy twenty minutes, due mostly to avoidable causes.