The National Health Policy Of Pakistan: Is It Suitable For Women’s Health Needs?

This study presents an analytical review of the National health policy2001of Pakistan and it investigates whether the women health needs and issues have been addressed in the policy to fulfill the needs and uplift the women health status in Pakistan. The focal points of this study were to go through the present health system of Pakistan and to the issues and problem of women in Pakistan. Pakistani Women’s health issues are primarily connected with nutrition deficiencies, their early marriages and their being neglected at different stage of life from birth to death. These basic health issues of women, as revealed from our results, have not been addressed in real sense in the National health Policy2001. In hospitals at district level and Basic health units in country side, the number of female health providers is very low. So female health seekers hesitate and feel reluctant to get medical aid from male professionals. This ultimately poses an obstacle to get medical aid for women. In Policy, it is intended to recruit the female health providers. Moreover, it was planned to remove professional and managerial deficiencies by improving monitoring and supervision. But policy failed to plan and formulate the strategy to implement these points. Health issues cannot be addressed only by few improvements in policy or by providing health care facilities rather it is a multifaceted phenomenon wherein education and economics of heath seekers and health providers also matters. In Pakistan, women have fewer opportunities to get them involved in business activities or to promote their professional skill. Hence, Pakistan women are away from mainstream of economic activities. The heath policy must have had addressed the economic issues of health seeking women and their participation should have been planned but it remained a neglected issue.