A policy dialogue on reproductive health was organised by LEAD Pakistan here on Tuesday with the objective to discuss and debate research conducted under "Enabling Effective Leadership for Reproductive Health", a project of LEAD Pakistan.
Though similar events have been held previously in Sindh, this Policy Dialogue was the first of its kind held in Lahore. Secretary Population Welfare Department, Punjab, Javaid Akhtar, Senior Country Advisor, Population Programme, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Dr Yasmeen Sabeeh Qazi, Provincial Programme Coordinator National MNCH Programme, Dr Sabiha Sheikh, Deputy Secretary Technical-PWD, Dr Afshan Tahir, Additional Secretary Technical-PWD, Dr Attiya Maruf and Provincial Coordinator for Family Planning and Primary Health Care, Dr Akhtar Rasheed were among the dignitaries present on the occasion.
The event was widely attended by government officials, health professionals, members of academia and media representatives. Dr Suleman Qazi gave a brief overview of the project and said that "Enabling Effective Leadership for Reproductive Health" is a project aimed at addressing outstanding gaps in Reproductive Health by developing the leadership capacity of a cadre of multi-sectoral stakeholders, trained on reproductive health issues in the districts of Lodhran (Punjab) and Khairpur (Sindh).
Speaking on the occasion, Secretary Population and Welfare Department Punjab, Javaid Akhtar highlighted the significance of media in sensitising the people of Pakistan on reproductive health issues and stated that media should come forward and play its much-awaited role.
Highlighting the positive impacts of devolution, he said that it has strengthened the ownership of provinces by giving more autonomy to them to frame their own health-related policies. Talking about the research studies, CEO LEAD, Ali Tauqeer Sheikh said that research had been conducted in district Khairpur, Sindh with the assistance of LEAD Pakistan's reproductive health cohort members.
Later, the cohort members presented their respective research studies on, "Enhancing Local Government Synergy", "District Strategy for Reproductive Health", "District Budgeting" and "Male Involvement in Reproductive Health". In her concluding remarks, Senior Country Advisor, Population Programme, of The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Dr Yasmeen Sabeeh Qazi stressed the international significance of reproductive health as being essential for achieving all Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Comments
Comments are closed.