Sindh has lowest infant mortality rate in Pakistan, says Bilawal

Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Monday lauded the Sindh government for its significant achievements in reducing child mortality rates, reaffirming the PPP’s commitment to providing free, world-class healthcare services to the people through revolutionary measures.

He noted that Sindh’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program has outperformed all other provinces and the Federal government.

He expressed these views while addressing a ceremony at Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi, organized by Dow University of Health Sciences. The event marked the release of a report by PALISI, a U.S.-based health institute under the University of California, San Francisco, highlighting a significant reduction in child mortality rates at Sindh’s public hospitals.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari hailed this achievement as further evidence of the success of Sindh’s Public-Private Partnership model introduced by the provincial government. He congratulated the Sindh government, the provincial health department, and the ChildLife Foundation team, including doctors and staff, for their efforts, saying, “It is a moment of pride that your hard work and success are now being recognized globally. Congratulations to all of you.”

Recalling the past, Chairman Bilawal Bhutto said that after 2010, certain segments of the media exaggerated child mortality rates in Sindh, often portraying the province in a negative light. “Reports about child mortality were sensationalized as breaking news, with live feeds from hospitals across Sindh starting from Tharparkar,” he stated. He added that while child mortality rates are improving across Pakistan, they remain alarmingly high, posing a challenge for all provinces, including Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari highlighted that over the last 15 years, the Sindh government launched several initiatives to address this issue, including partnerships with the ChildLife Foundation under the Public-Private Partnership model. Emergency facilities for children have been established in Karachi, Larkana, Nawabshah, Hyderabad, Sukkur, and Khairpur, alongside telemedicine services in 106 tehsils. “Our dream is to establish ChildLife emergency facilities in every district to provide free and quality healthcare to the public,” he stated, appreciating the future plans to introduce urgent care centers to reduce the burden on existing emergency facilities.

He expressed satisfaction that Sindh’s successful child healthcare model under the Public-Private Partnership program is now being adopted by other provinces. “Punjab has established two emergency rooms, in Multan and Lahore, while Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan, and other regions have also set up similar facilities. We need to engage with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Kashmir to ensure their people benefit from this initiative as well.”

Bilawal Bhutto attributed this progress to the 18th Constitutional Amendment and the Sindh government’s commitment to the Public-Private Partnership model, which was first envisioned by Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in the PPP’s 1993 election manifesto. He proudly noted that Sindh not only leads other provinces and the federal government but is also a regional leader in this model, with The Economist ranking Sindh’s PPP program among the top six.

Highlighting financial constraints, he pointed out that Sindh often faces resource shortages. However, the PPP’s government countered these challenges by adopting the Public-Private Partnership program. He reiterated the PPP’s resolve to continue providing world-class healthcare services, including child health care, to the people of Sindh.

Later, Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari distributed certificates to doctors and officials for their outstanding performance and visited the ChildLife Foundation’s telemedicine satellite center control room to observe live teleconsultations.

Meanwhile, Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, in his post on the social media platform X, pointed out: “Infant mortality rates in Sindh now stand at 2.9% while rest of Pakistan is at 5.4% infant mortality rate. US based PALISI Global health reports that both Sheikh Zayed Children Hospital Larkana & Civil Hospital Karachi have a 1.2% mortality rate. Compared to 1.4% for Agha Khan which is a Private hospital and 6.3% rate in 19 similar countries. Our child-life facility is now the only public sector pediatric facility in Pakistan to be rated 5/5 SafeCare Quality level. Proud of everyone who has been a part of the successful transformation of Sindh’s healthcare over the last 15 years.”