KARACHI – Marie Stopes Society has inaugurated a maternal and child health (MCH) center in PECHS, Karachi with funding support from the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development.
Dr. Annabel Gerry, Head of Office of the Department for International Development, UK (DFID), Mona Shamsuddin, Deputy Head of Commission from British Deputy High Commission Office Karachi, Country Director Marie Stopes Society Asma Balal and notables from social services and medical and pharma industry were present at the event in the Sindh capital.
The first Maternal and Child Health Center will provide obstetric services for normal deliveries in addition to the full range of family planning services. A strong referral mechanism is also developed with the local tertiary care facilities to ensure continuum of care for clients that may require surgical intervention during delivery. Attached with the MCH Center is a community pharmacy that ensures availability of a qualified pharmacist and medicines from quality assured manufacturers.
On the occasion, Dr. Annabel said: “I’m proud of DFID for being the largest donor to family planning services in Pakistan. I believe that every woman should have access to modern contraceptives and the choice to decide for themselves when and how many children they want.”
She further added that “we are very keen to ensure that our support in both the private and public sector are sustainable and reach every single woman in Pakistan – and the inauguration of this clinic today is an excellent example of how we will achieve that.”
Addressing the participants, Marie Stopes Society Country Director Asma Balal said that “we are committed to make sure easy availability of contraceptive devices to every person lives in Pakistan with quality.”
She added that the Marie Stopes Society, Pakistan (MSS) is thankful to DFID for its generous support for providing quality reproductive health services to people of Pakistan. She further said that this MCH Center is blessing for the people of Karachi.
“We ensure that this center will maintain its high standard of services,” she further said.
Marie Stopes Society (MSS) is a Pakistani non-profit organization, operating since 1991 committed to providing high quality reproductive health and family planning services across the country. MSS is a leading contributor to Pakistan’s national population planning goals, with an average of 700,000 clients served annually. MSS operates in tandem with the government’s Population Welfare and Health departments in each province. Since 2010, MSS has provided quality assured family planning services to over 6.5 million couples that helped save lives of over 7,000 mothers across Pakistan.
