ISLAMABAD: With the movement of women curtailed due to the coronavirus outbreak, concerns have arisen that the reproductive health and rights of the people of Pakistan are likely to be sidelined during the pandemic.

In a media briefing on Tuesday, Population Council Project Director Samia Ali Shah said that a decline by up to 20pc in maternal health services would result in more than 200,000 additional births, more than 2,000 maternal deaths and about 58,000 stillbirths in the next three months.

She said that service disruptions in family planning services are likely to leave an additional two million women with unmet contraceptive needs, causing more than 900,000 unintended pregnancies and more than 350,000 unsafe abortions.

“Similarly, a decline in women’s protection services puts 1.6m additional women at increased risk of domestic violence during the lockdown in Pakistan. The government needs to act quickly to [ensure] essential reproductive [services], including family planning, maternal and newborn health services remain available as Covid-19 progresses,” she said.

Ms Shah announced the launch of a helpline for the support and counselling of women regarding reproductive health concerns.

The helpline has been launched in collaboration with the Association for Mothers and Newborns (Aman) and the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (SOGP), with financial support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Aman President Dr Azra Ahsan said that the helpline will host a pool of health experts available over the phone to provide medical assistance to women on family planning, maternal health, essential newborn care and reproductive health issues.

“Doctors will also provide medical advice on how pregnant women can keep themselves safe from Covid-19, gender-based violence, proper nutrition, contraception and hygiene practices,” she said.

She said that Aman, with support from the SOGP, conducted extensive training of gynaecologists and equipped them with the necessary knowledge to assist callers on various reproductive health issues.

The doctors will be available daily, she said.

Women can call from anywhere in the country, 9am to 5pm from Monday to Saturday.

Population Council Senior Programmes Director Dr Ali Mir said: “For most women in reproductive ages, family planning is as critical as other healthcare. The emergency response to the Covid-19 outbreak means that resources for essential maternal, newborn health, gender and reproductive health services are diverted to deal with the outbreak. The helpline is an important development to ensure that accurate and timely information reaches women across Pakistan to avoid delays or disruption in maternal and reproductive health services due to the virus outbreak.”

Discrimination against women remains a major global public health threat and cannot be ignored during emergencies, SOGP General Secretary Haleema Yasmin said.

“In these times of heightened sensitivity where there is a lot of misinformation circulating around, the helpline has been established to provide quality online services to ensure that accurate information and services reach women living in rural, semi-urban and urban areas seeking reproductive and maternal health information,” she said.

Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2020