Press Releases 2008
U.S. and Pakistan Officials Present Results of Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey
October 22, 2008
Karachi -- The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Institute of Population Studies today presented the results of the USAID-funded Pakistan’s Demographic and Health Survey in a meeting of public health professionals at the National Research Institute of Fertility Care (NIRFC).
"The U.S. Government is pleased to collaborate with the Pakistani health sector to provide crucial data for planning health programs to improve the health and longevity of people throughout Pakistan," said Kay Anske, the U.S. Consul General in Karachi. "The survey helps both the government of Pakistan and donors to prioritize their investments and efforts to address the most crucial problems affecting women and children." She added.
Conducted by Pakistan’s Ministry of Population and Welfare in collaboration with the U.S. firm Macro International from 2006 – 2007, the survey provides information on health and population indicators and is considered by many to be the "gold standard" for household health surveys. Pakistan’s health experts will now be able to review the results of the survey and identify approaches to improve Pakistan’s health indicators
Nationwide survey results included that more than nine of every 100 children born die before their fifth birthday and one in 362 women die in childbirth. Additionally, only 47 percent of children have received basic childhood immunizations by the age of 24 months.
Since 2002 United States has provided more than $2 billion to Pakistan to improve health, education, economic growth and democratic governance and to reconstruct areas affected by the October 2005 earthquake.