Zubair Qureshi
The National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) has launched the first phase of its transformative consultation conference series, titled ‘The Next Horizon’, aiming to create a comprehensive National Agenda for Women and Girls in Pakistan.
The first conference in this regard titled ‘Inclusive Healthcare for Women: Paving the Way Forward’ was held at Marriott Hotel on Tuesday in collaboration with UNFPA and Pathfinder.
Chairperson of the NCSW MsNilofarBakhtiar opened the session by highlighting the urgent need to address the pressing health issues facing women in Pakistan.
Chief Guest on the occasion, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, AhsanIqbal reiterated the government’s dedication to advancing women’s health. He stated, “Our commitment lies in implementing strong policies and investing in healthcare infrastructure to guarantee that every woman in Pakistan has access to quality healthcare.”
Special Secretary, Ministry of National Health Services Regulation and Coordination WaqarUlHassan and Lt. Gen (R) NigarJohar, Pakistan’s first female three-star army general, also addressed the participants. Moreover, renowned artist, cancer survivor and a motivational speaker Nadia Jamil also shared her inspiring personal journey and epic fight against breast cancer.
The conference featured thematic working group sessions that delved into various aspects of women’s health.
These included discussions on sexual and reproductive health and rights, nutritional disparities, common communicable and non-communicable diseases, and emotional and mental health.
The recommendations include advocacy for increasing the health budget, allocation to at least 10pc of the development budget and 5pc of GDP, non-politicized recruitment for healthcare professionals, access to mental health services at secondary and tertiary levels, inter-provincial health programmes that can be monitored, improved and replicated, Enhancing coordination between women’s health departments and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority to accommodate internally displaced expecting mothers to be given proper and urgent care, prioritize and invest in digital health solutions to enhance women’s healthcare services across far flung areas, social protection, safety and security and life and health insurance schemes for primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare professionals, incentivized programmes for healthcare professionals to serve in the marginalized communities across Pakistan and special nutritional programmes for mother and child across all provinces.
