FAFEN Governance Monitors visited 92 Mother and Child Health (MCH) Centers across Pakistan during May 2010 – 35 MCHs in 24 districts of Punjab, 25 MCHs in 20 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, five MCHs in as many districts of Balochistan, 25 MCHs in 18 districts of Sindh, one MCH in FATA, and one MCH in the ICT.
Despite the importance of maternal and child heath care, which are a priority under the Millennium Development Goals, almost one-fifth of the MCHs monitored around the country do not have a maternity kit or a labor room. More than one-fourth of all MCHs monitored either do not have latrines or have latrines without running water. The issue is most acute in Balochistan where more than one one-third of the monitored facilities do not have sanitation facilities for patients. Around one-fifth of MCHs monitored in Balochistan also do not have female staff to attend female patients, and the same is true in about 12 percent of MCHs in Sindh, six percent in Punjab, and four percent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Nearly 12 percent of patients interviewed complained about the general absence of doctors and other medical personnel at the MCH, but almost 88 percent of patients interviewed said the staff who were present in MCHs provided them all required support.
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