Abstract:
Although the Millennium Development Goals provide countries with wellrounded
objectives for achieving human development over a period of 25 years,
Pakistan is not on track to achieving the health-related goals. With the eighth highest
newborn death rate in the world, in 2001–07 one in every ten children born in
Pakistan died before reaching the age of five. Similarly, women have a 1 in 80 chance
of dying of maternal health causes during reproductive life. Compared to other South
Asian countries, Pakistan currently lags behind in immunization coverage,
contraceptive use, and infant and child mortality rates. Expenditure as a percentage
of private expenditure on health is about 98 percent, positioning Pakistan among
those countries with the highest share of out-of-pocket payments relative to total
health expenditure (World Health Organization, 2009). Pakistan is also going
through an epidemiological transition where it faces the double burden of
communicable diseases combined with maternal and perinatal conditions, as well as
chronic, noninfectious diseases. The landscape of public health service delivery
presents an uneven distribution of resources between rural and urban areas: The
rural poor are at a clear disadvantage in terms of primary and tertiary health
services, and also fail to benefit fully from public programs such as the immunization
of children. The poor state of public facilities overall has contributed to the
diminished role of public health facilities, while the private sector’s role in the
provision of service delivery has increased enormously. Following the 18th
Amendment to the Constitution, the health sector has been devolved to the provinces,
but the distribution of responsibilities and sources of revenue generation between the
tiers remains unclear. A multipronged national health policy is needed that tackles
the abysmal child and maternal health indicators, and reduces the burden of disease.
Moreover, it is imperative to improve the provision of primary and tertiary
healthcare with a strong monitoring system in place.
