Dr. Zafar Mirza made the announcement at the ongoing Nairobi Summit pertaining to female empowerment and gender equality
In his speech on the second day of the conference, the Health Minister acknowledged the need to advance in achieving access to sexual and reproductive health, and said that Pakistan was aiming to lower fertility rate from 3.8 births to 2.8 births by 2025, through increasing contraceptive availability from 35% to 50%.
“We aim to reduce maternal mortality rate from 170 to less than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030 by increasing skilled birth attendance, access to modern contraception and expanding services of lady health workers,” said Dr. Zafar Mirza, expressing Pakistan’s desire to reduce maternal mortality rates.
He also assured that the government “is legislating and will enforce with full force Early Child Marriage Restrain Act and is adopting zero tolerance policy on violence against women and girls” while confirming the government’s commitment to the Convention of the Rights of Children.
Speaking of Pakistan’s achievements over the last 25 years, he informed that the nation has increased antenatal care from 14% to 51% between 1990 and 2018, while also increasing skilled birth attendance from 17% to 69% in the same period.
During the conference, renowned Pakistani artist Sheema Kermani gave an impressive solo performance and Razia Shamshad, a fistula survivor from Rahim Yar Khan, gave a talk as part of the event’s community sessions.
Read more from ProperGaanda: Karachi Attacked By Plague Of Locusts