New WB report reminds South Asia of challenges
FE Report | Saturday, 7 March 2009
A new World Bank report says that Bangladesh and other South Asian countries face enormous challenges in attaining the reproductive health related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Bangladesh needs to halve its maternal mortality ratio by 2015 to meet the MDGs.
The report 'Sparing lives: Better reproductive health for poor women in South Asia' was launched Thursday last simultaneously in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It stresses that reproductive health outcomes are poor and unequal and poor women have substantially worse reproductive health than better off women. Low use of services is a significant problem in South Asia. Poor nutritional status is another key problem among females of all ages.
South Asian governments along with development partners need to strengthen and expand interventions to improve the reproductive health of poor women.
"We will continue our support to nutrition and girls' education. The Government of Bangladesh has already initiated innovative ways in order to provide better health services to poor pregnant women. One such initiative is the maternal health voucher that is operational in 35 upazilas in Bangladesh", said Xian Zhu, World Bank Bangladesh Country Director. 'Improving maternal health and the education of poor women are significant factors in improving other health indicators.'
Bangladesh has made significant progress in some areas of reproductive health. For example, the country has done well in fertility reduction. The gap between the poorest and richest women in contraceptive use in Bangladesh is lower than India and Nepal which suggests a more pro-active distribution of services.
'Bangladesh is committed to reducing maternal mortality, neonatal and child mortality while family planning forms an integral part of the national response', said Mohammad Abdul Qayyum, Director General of Family Planning, 'A number of packages with interventions at different levels from community to hospital are in place. Special emphasis has been given to the poor and remote rural women. A close collaboration between the government and non government sector is working towards that end.'
The World Bank report highlights that South Asian countries need to increase the supply of reproductive heath services in an integrated manner. For this, improving the quantity and quality of human resources in the health sector is of paramount importance. The report stresses decentralized action planning that can be used to improve reproductive health service delivery and outcomes. The report also cites best practices in reproductive health that provide models and lessons for improvements in South Asia.
The report 'Sparing lives: Better reproductive health for poor women in South Asia' was launched Thursday last simultaneously in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It stresses that reproductive health outcomes are poor and unequal and poor women have substantially worse reproductive health than better off women. Low use of services is a significant problem in South Asia. Poor nutritional status is another key problem among females of all ages.
South Asian governments along with development partners need to strengthen and expand interventions to improve the reproductive health of poor women.
"We will continue our support to nutrition and girls' education. The Government of Bangladesh has already initiated innovative ways in order to provide better health services to poor pregnant women. One such initiative is the maternal health voucher that is operational in 35 upazilas in Bangladesh", said Xian Zhu, World Bank Bangladesh Country Director. 'Improving maternal health and the education of poor women are significant factors in improving other health indicators.'
Bangladesh has made significant progress in some areas of reproductive health. For example, the country has done well in fertility reduction. The gap between the poorest and richest women in contraceptive use in Bangladesh is lower than India and Nepal which suggests a more pro-active distribution of services.
'Bangladesh is committed to reducing maternal mortality, neonatal and child mortality while family planning forms an integral part of the national response', said Mohammad Abdul Qayyum, Director General of Family Planning, 'A number of packages with interventions at different levels from community to hospital are in place. Special emphasis has been given to the poor and remote rural women. A close collaboration between the government and non government sector is working towards that end.'
The World Bank report highlights that South Asian countries need to increase the supply of reproductive heath services in an integrated manner. For this, improving the quantity and quality of human resources in the health sector is of paramount importance. The report stresses decentralized action planning that can be used to improve reproductive health service delivery and outcomes. The report also cites best practices in reproductive health that provide models and lessons for improvements in South Asia.