(II) – Health

A Bearing Disparity

Spending on health as a percentage of Pakistan’s GDP is worryingly low at 0.23 per cent as of 2011, having fallen from 0.70 per cent in 2001.

The health status of women is inextricably linked to their vulnerable position in society, as social gender norms intersect with limited public healthcare facilities and insufficient resources, to adversely affect their health. Yet the health of women and children is important to the future well-being of any community.

Women’s Health and Economic Opportunities

Economic growth and human development do not always go hand in hand, as evidenced by Pakistan’s per capita GDP rankings compared with human development rankings. However, the link between health conditions and economic growth is usually thought to be stronger.

Women are most economically productive during their reproductive years. Women also have to bear the dual demands on their time and energies, as per cultural responsibilities placed on them, at the expense of their health; physical health, mental health and emotional health. As such, their healthcare and nutritional needs are far greater and are equally under prioritized.

With seemingly universal knowledge on contraceptives in Pakistan, the use of contraceptives stands at 35 per cent. What this leads to, is early and frequent childbearing and large families all of which adds burden to women engaging in both reproductive and productive work - time, energy and health. In Pakistan, women with three or more children are more likely to engage in economic activity to support the needs of their family.

Pakistan also faces bleak figures on status of under-nourishment of its people on a whole where 58 per cent of households are food insecure and 10 per cent are afflicted with severe hunger. Children and women of childbearing age are hit the hardest. Food affordability is also low. Nutritional deficiencies harm the development and growth of the body as well as hamper maintenance of good health.

On Natural Calamities and Women’s Health

Natural calamities, disasters and displacement of populations have the greatest impact on vulnerable groups of society which women constitute a large fraction of, in addition to children, the elderly and persons with disabilities. Coping with the devastation that calamities wreak is a challenge for these vulnerable groups given their weak social and economic status, limited access to resources and reduced physical strength. Damage caused to physical infrastructure including healthcare facilities can and do have grave consequences upon the availability and accessibility of healthcare services, potentially exacerbating issues of morbidity and mortality for pregnant women particularly those requiring delivery services as well as services for post-natal care.

Sans Provision of Social Security

While those in formal employment receive social security under labor laws, people employed in the informal sector receive no such service. This is particularly a problem for women because a majority of them are working in the informal sector and are left bereft of such benefits.

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