Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday confirmed his government’s obligation to ensure high quality health facilities for all citizens, especially mothers and newborns.
Marking the World Health Day 2025 said the Prime Minister that this year’s global theme – “Healthy beginning, hopeful futures” – reflects the critical need to prioritize baby’s health from birth and mothers’ well -being.
In a statement from his office, Shehbaz recognized that the progress Pakistan has made to improve maternal and child health, but admitted that there are still significant gaps.
“There’s still a long journey ahead,” he said. “We need to further develop our health system to confront medical and social challenges that affect motherhood and neonatal health.”
The Prime Minister emphasized the need for a comprehensive approach to health reform, one that integrates technological innovation, public-private partnerships and investments in education, nutrition and the environment.
“Our government is obliged to use modern technology and build strong partnerships to improve the infrastructure of public health,” he said.
He also called for a multis -sectoral strategy to tackle the broader problems affecting health results. “Let us repeat the need for a coordinated and practical approach across healthcare, education, nutrition and environmental management,” he urged.
The World Health Day 2025 also starts a long-standing campaign led by the World Health Organization (WHO) to end preventable mothers and newborn deaths and improve long-term well-being for women and families.
The WHO campaign highlights alarming global speech-nest 300,000 women die from pregnancy-related reasons annually, while over 2 million newborns die in their first month of life, and another 2 million are stillborn. It corresponds to a preventable death every seven seconds.
According to the current trends, four out of five countries are out of track to meet the UN 2030 targets for reducing maternal deaths, and one in three has been set to Miss newborn health targets.
The campaign encourages governments to strengthen health systems not only to tackle direct obstetric complications, but also not -transferable illnesses, mental health conditions and the need for family planning services.
It also requires policies that support women’s rights, reproductive health and emotional well -being together with better working conditions for midwives, nurses and front -line staff.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Agencies warned that cuts to international aid budgets are threatening to turn decades of progress in reducing maternal deaths, potentially leading to an increase in preventable deaths during pregnancy and childbirth.
The warning coincided with the release of a new UN report for World Health Day, which highlighted a 40% decrease in maternal mortality between 2000 and 2023 – largely thanks to improved access to essential healthcare. However, officials now say momentum is in danger.
According to the report, trends in maternity mortality died, estimated 260,000 women in 2023 of pregnancy or birth complications – which lies in a death every other minute.
