Health Issues

According to the World Health Organization, Pakistan’s total health expenditures amounted to 3.9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2005, and per capita health expenditures were US$49. The government provided 24.4 percent of total health expenditures, with the remainder being entirely private, out-of-pocket expenses. Millennium Development Goals (MDG) are eight international development goals that all 192 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015. They include reducing extreme poverty, reducing child mortality rates, fighting disease epidemics such as AIDS, and developing a global partnership for development. Our NGO is also focusing on some of the infectious diseases like malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/ AIDS, dengue fever, maternal and child health.

The poor state of health in Pakistan is attributed to to the lack of access to basic health care services, poverty, lack of health infrastructure and personnel, illiteracy, women’s low status, inadequate water supplies and sanitation. In the urban areas, access to health care clinics and facilities is not a problem, though the general state and quality of public services is very poor. On the other hand, in the rural areas, people live far from hospitals and basic health care units. It is for this reason that most women give birth at home with the assistance of a midwife or lady health worker. Illness pushes people into poverty through lost wages, high spending for treatment and recurring treatment for their illnesses. One of the main causes of illness in the rural areas of Pakistan is poor water and sanitation systems. Some studies indicate that a significant portion of the rural poor incomes is spent on preventable common diseases linked to contaminated water and unsanitary living conditions. Thus the severity of health-related poverty is closely reflected in the country’s poor health indicators. Poverty is thus both a consequence and a cause of ill health. According to official data, there are 127,859 doctors and 12,804 health facilities in the country to cater for over 170 million people. In 2007 there were 85 physicians for every 100,000 persons in Pakistan. Or in other words, one doctor for 1,225 people. There are only over 62,000 nurses all over Pakistan who are supplemented with a strong force of 96,000 Lady Health Workers (primary health care providers).

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. AIDS is a serious condition that weakens the body’s immune system, leaving it unable to fight off illness. AIDS is the last stage in a progression of diseases resulting from a viral infection known as the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV or AIDS virus). The diseases include a number of unusual and severe infections, cancers and debilitating illnesses, resulting in severe weight loss or wasting away, and diseases affecting the brain and central nervous system. Tuberculosis is a common and often deadly infectious disease caused by bacteria. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body .It is spread through the air, when people who have the disease cough, sneeze, or spit. Maternal and child health problems are also widespread in Pakistan, complicated in part by frequent births most of which take place at home under untrained supervision. Factors that prevent women in Pakistan from getting the health care they need include distance from health services, cost (direct fees as well as the cost of transportation), and women’s lack of decision-making power within the family. The poor quality of services, including poor treatment by health providers, also makes some women reluctant to use services.

According to the latest Ministry of Health Pakistan statistics, there were 13,937 health institutions in the country including 945 hospitals (with a total of 103,285 hospital beds), 4,755 dispensaries, 5,349 Basic Health Units (mostly in rural areas), 903 Mother and Child Care Centers, 562 rural health centers and 290 TB centers. Dengue fever is a viral disease associated with urban environments. It is also known as break bone fever. The presence of fever, rash, and headache (and other pains) is particularly characteristic of dengue. Dengue strikes people with low levels of immunity. In Pakistan, at least 25 deaths have been reported and the death rate from Dengue is significantly more than anywhere else in this world. Malaria is a problem faced by the lower class and some of the upper class people in Pakistan. The unsanitary conditions and stagnant water bodies in the rural areas and city slums provide excellent breeding grounds for mosquitoes. The symptoms of malaria vary from person to person. The characteristic symptom of malaria is fever accompanied by flu like illness, muscle ache, headaches and chills. Diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and cough is also observed in some cases. HIV/AID AIDS stands for