ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for National Health Services Saira Afzal Tarar confessed on Tuesday that health had not been a priority of any of the governments during the last 60 years.

Most of the health projects were donor-driven, due to which the union councils provided wrong data to please the donors and the situation became worse overtime. She said this while presiding over a meeting to finalise arrangements for the first International Health Conference at Pakistan Institute of Medical Science (Pims) titled `Meeting Mother and Child Health Challenges Beyond 2015` Ms Tarar added that the health sector was made the responsibility of donor agencies and non-government organisations (NGOs) in the past.

`Federal governments did not do anything for health sector due to which the health indicators are not only embarrassing, rather Pakistan has also failed to meet the millennium development goals (MDGs) regarding health,` she said.

`Misinterpretation of religionhas affected all the departments, including health sector. Health of mothers and children has been affected because people are not ready to use contraceptives and assure gap between child births, she said.

`Women are the lowest priority in rural areas, and undernourish-ed girls have to give birth to bables. Doctors, nurses and other staff, dealing with mother and child health, should suggest breast feeding,` she said.

`NGOs have been spending all funds on research but there is no output of their research work. Only 10 per cent funds should be spenton research work, while remaining 90 per cent should be spent on implementing the recommendations,` the minister suggested.

She said the recommendations of the upcoming conference would be implemented in their true letter and spirit, adding that these suggestions will be shared with all provinces to devise a plan of action.

Ms Tarar said that globally around half a million women die every year, as a result of problems related to pregnancy and childbirth, while approximately six million children die worldwide, annually. Most of these mortalities are in the developing countries.

Vice-Chancellor, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Medical University, Prof Dr Javed Akram said Pakistan was bound to miss the MDGs and was rated quite poor in developing countries.

`We have to prioritise mother and child health. If we have healthy mothers, they will give birth to healthy children.

Unfortunately primary and secondary health care system is not working in Pakistan, due to which all the load has been passed to tertiary health care system,` he said.

`It is embarrassing that over 40 per cent births are taking place inabsence of a skilled birth attendant,` he said.

While talking about the conference Dr Akram said scholars from all over the world will participate in the conference starting from September 12. Recommendations of the conference will be sent to the prime minister.

Head of Children`s Hospital at Pims Dr Tabish Hazir said that MDGs were announced in 1990 to improve different health indicators by two-thirds till 2015.

`Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal were way behind us in 1990, but they achieved their MDGs.

However, Pakistan failed. We need to focus on things which are required,` he said.

`According to MDGs, under-five mortality rate should be 52 per 1,000 births, which is at the moment 89. Infant mortality rate should be 40, which is 74 at the moment,` he said. Gynecologist Dr Syeda Batool said that the biggest challenge in the country was maternal health.

`Maternal mortality rate is 276 per 100,000. According to MDGs, it should be 140 by 2015. Skilled birth attendance is 52 per cent, which should be 90 per cent by 2015, but that is impossible,` she said.