Press Release
Thousands of Pregnant Earthquake Survivors Will Face Life-Threatening Complications in Coming Months, UNFPA Warns
07 November 2005
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Some 17,000 earthquake-affected women in Pakistan are expected to give birth in the next two months. An estimated 1,200 of them will face major complications and about 400 will require surgical assistance.
UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, warns that the health and safety of these pregnant women and adolescent girls are in jeopardy due to the shock and trauma they suffered in the 8 October quake, the harsh living conditions they now face, and their very limited access to basic health services and emergency obstetric care.
To help local authorities address this situation, UNFPA is providing clean delivery kits, caesarean section kits, emergency supplies and much-needed surgical equipment to health centres and referral facilities as part of the United Nations’ coordinated response.
Nine UNFPA mobile clinics continue to offer medical assistance to affected communities in two hard-hit districts, Mansehra in North-West Frontier Province and Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. Over the past week, staff have treated well over 10,000 patients and performed more than 80 deliveries. One woman with labour complications was flown by helicopter along with a woman doctor to the hospital in Muzaffarabad, where she safely delivered a healthy baby boy.
UNFPA Representative in Pakistan Dr. France Donnay cautions, however, that additional funds will be required to adequately care for the thousands of women who will need medical assistance in the coming months. UNFPA has asked donors for $9 million to support reproductive health and $1 million for hygiene supplies, as part of the UN-led consolidated humanitarian appeal for Pakistan.
As the earthquake response advances from emergency relief efforts to reconstruction, there is an urgent need to re-establish the health system and to train community health providers in basic maternal care. One major challenge is the shortage of female medical staff and community workers. UNFPA needs more funds to provide equipment and support training.
The Fund's Pakistan office has assembled 100,000 hygiene kits for women and adolescent girls—each including items for personal use such as a towel, shawl, soap, comb and cotton wool—to be distributed by community health workers and the UNFPA mobile service teams, with the support of international and local NGO partners.
As part of the humanitarian coordination effort, UNFPA has shared its electronic database of geographical information about Mansehra and Muzaffarabad districts with the UN health cluster in Islamabad. This system provides detailed maps showing terrain, roads and population density, and has coordinates for all clinics and schools. This information will help government authorities plan the rehabilitation of the health service system in the affected areas in the next few months.
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UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is an international development agency that promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. UNFPA supports countries in using population data for policies and programmes to reduce poverty and to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV/AIDS, and every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect.
Contact Information:
Islamabad: Shahida Fazil, +92-51-2800133, Ext. 2388, fazil@unfpa.org
Bangkok: William A. Ryan, mobile +66 9 897 6984, ryanw@unfpa.org
New York: Omar Gharzeddine, +1 212-297-5028, gharzeddine@unfpa.org
