Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that despite financial crunch the government is committed to increase budgetary allocation for health sector substantially to make sure that no child dies due to lack of healthcare. Addressing the gathering after inaugurating the new-born and child survival campaign here on Saturday.
Gilani said that the government is targeting a three-fold increase in GDP spending on health over five years with particular focus on maternal and child health. "We will continue to provide "unprecedented budgetary allocations" for the health sector," he added.
Later in a very brief chat with media, he said that Pakistan People's Party Core Committee would decide party's future course about UN inquiry report on the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. When asked how long President would take in signing the 18th Constitutional Amendment Bill, he said that this question should have been asked from the President who could be in a better position to answer.
Gilani said that the government aims at providing quality health services to every nook and corner of the country and "we will ensure that no child dies due to lack of health care." He said the government would always provide required financial resources to MNCH Programme even in the current financial crunch and proved this through health sector reforms.
He said the government was committed to incremental and sequential increase in budgetary allocations for health and is targeting a three-fold increase in our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) spending on health over five years with particular focus on maternal and child health.
Prime Minister Gilani said public health has always been a priority area for the government and in this regard collaborative efforts of the Ministry of Health and Save the Children were being made under a new and innovative approach. He said the objective was to improve health outcomes for newborn children and mothers while working towards achieving Pakistan's targets for Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5. Prime Minister said that he was glad to note that over the years, we have made considerable progress in reducing high levels of infant and maternal mortality.
He, however, pointed out that high newborn and maternal mortality was a matter of grave concern for his government and said these could have been averted through prevention. The Prime Minister said it was Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed, who initiated the Lady Health Workers' Programme for people living in rural under-served areas. He said his government was taking forward the manifesto of improving the health of the nation and specifically providing maternal and child health services.
"We are introducing a cadre of Community Midwives (CMWs), who would work as skilled birth attendants at the door steps of the communities," he said and added these CMWs were being inducted through National Maternal Newborn and Child Health Programme. Gilani said a total of 12,000 CMWs will be inducted till 2012. Out of these, 6000 have received training and the rest were at various stages of recruitment and training.