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UNFPA in Pakistan Through the Years

Historical perspective

UNFPA assistance to Pakistan began in 1970. Its support contributed to enhancing the capacity of medical and health care providers of the Government and NGOs to deliver family planning services and the provision and management of contraceptive commodities.  Twelve Regional Training Institutes were, therefore, established throughout the country to deliver basic technical training courses to a cadre of Family Welfare Workers who were to form the core staff to deliver family planning services to the population. 

Toward the mid 80’s UNFPA funding began to follow the pattern of comprehensive country programmes that cover a period of five years, coinciding with the five-year development plans of the Government. During these five-year periods, UNFPA funds were channeled not only towards improving and strengthening the delivery of family planning services, but also to supporting national institutes to undertake policy oriented research. A large portion of UNFPA country programme resources were also directed toward supporting national population and housing census operations, including the analysis, dissemination and the use of the data collected for policy and development planning.

International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), Cairo, Egypt, 1994

The ICPD Programme of Action, which was approved by a consensus of 179 countries, marked an important turning point in the international community approach to supporting population and development activities. Thus, following the Conference, UNFPA gradually shifted its mandate towards implementing the ICPD goals, through an integrated approach. UNFPA, therefore, addresses the needs of individuals and families in all matters relating to their social and economic well-being in general, and reproductive health and gender-related issues, in particular.  As part of its commitment to the implementation of the ICPD Programme of Action, the Government has taken various measures to make reproductive health an important component of Pakistan’s Population Programme by expanding its outreach services to the rural and under-served segments of the population.

Currently

The goal of the seventh and current Country Programme (2004-2008) is to improve the reproductive health status of the people of Pakistan, and is specially focused on helping  couples achieve their desired family size  while also improving maternal health. It recognizes the interdependence between women’s empowerment and gender equality for poverty eradication and sustainable development and thereby provides the necessary linkages between the MDGs and the ICPD Programme of Action. The collaborating partners of  UNFPA are the ministries of Health, Population, Education, Women  Development , Statistics Division ,  international and national NGOs.

Building on past experience, UNFPA’s assistance is   currently concentrated in ten districts, where the emphasis is on the provision of services. At the provincial and federal level, the Fund’s activities are directed towards planners and policy makers, as leading advocates for ICPD, ensuring that population-related issues, including reproductive health and gender are part of the Government’s poverty reduction strategies. Some of the highlights of the program are as follows:

Reaching communities with integrated Primary Health Care /Reproductive Health/Family Planning (PHC/RH/FP) services:

In order to improve accessibility to health care and family welfare services, the programme seeks to reach out to communities by relying and supporting the LHW programme. It also aims at delivering at the doorstep quality services for ante- and post-natal care (including child spacing) and for the early referral of complicated pregnancies. It re-examines a proper strategy for the availability of skilled and supervised community midwives. This will be done in consonance with the models developed by the Government. UNFPA continues to support the Mobile Service Unit program initiated with the Government in---, as it has demonstrated that Primary Health Care services integrated with Reproductive Health and Family Planning have made a significant positive difference in RH/FP client contacts.

The “Family Friendly Facility” Initiative (FFFI):

UNFPA provides support to health and population facilities (infrastructure, human resource capacity enhancement, and provision of selected medical supplies and equipment when required) on the basis of a mutual agreement between UNFPA and the FFFI to foster quality standards, reliability, and continuity of service.

Towards quality Emergency Obstetric Care:

In the ten districts, the program contributes to increasing the availability of quality Emergency Obstetric Care services by training staff and ensuring the availability of staff around the clock in District Headquarter Hospitals.  It also focuses on improving infrastructure, providing supplies and equipment and involving communities in the design of low cost, self-sustaining transportation systems.

“Sehet Mand Maan” Initiative (SMMI):

UNFPA is expanding the SMMI introduced during the seventh CP.  This initiative is aimed at improving maternal health by increasing awareness among the community leaders through the use of male and female motivators and local NGOs. 

 Young people, a national asset: Young people, defined as those aged 15 to 24, account for 50 % of the population of Pakistan. UNFPA country programme addresses the needs of young people by establishing linkages with the UNFPA/European Union Reproductive Health Initiative for Youth, in Asia (RHIYA).

This initiative, which covers seven countries, including Pakistan, is designed primarily to benefit young people as they face tremendous challenges during the transitional years of adolescence.

As part of its multisectoral approach, the Country Programme includes activities for the promotion of education for young people, specially girls by supporting the preparation of a draft curriculum incorporating messages on population and development including RH issues for grades 9-12.  Additionally by providing funds through the Government of Pakistan’s Education for All (EFA) initiative for the rehabilitation of 100 girls primary schools in the 10 UNFPA districts.