PESHAWAR: Lack of medicines has reduced number of pregnant women seeking maternal and child healthcare in the health houses established under the Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health Programme in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

A monitoring and evaluation report conducted in June, July and August says that number of visits by pregnant women have been drastically decreased owing to lack of medicines at the centres run by Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health Programme (MNCH).

The MNCH had deployed 1,650 employees in 24 districts to provide healthcare to pregnant women and put brakes on complications caused during deliveries. Over 14 health houses established at union council level were visited by pregnant women to undergo checkups and receive free drugs from there.

`Non-availability of medicines at the health houses has reduced visits by pregnant women as people want free drugs,` the monitoring report said. It added that previously 25 women visited the houses per day which was decreased to only five.

There is also reduction in deliveries by trained birth attendants because women avoid coming for treatment there due to lack of medicines.

The houses run by community midwives (CMWs) have recorded reduction in visits of pregnancy women, who previously received medicines, including multivitamins, antibiotics, pain-killer etc.

Sources said that the visiting women also used to undergo free checkup, blood and urine tests and ultrasound to ensure safe deliveries.

The MNCH last received drugs for those health houses in June 2015 after which no medical supply was made owing to which people weren`t coming there, they added.Sources said that a donor agency had been purchasing medicines for the health houses that was stopped last year.

`There is no hope that medicines will be made available anytime soon,` they added.

The MNCH programme was launched by the federal government in all provinces during 2007-8 to prevent deaths of mothers and newborns due to pregnancy-related complications. `Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the programme began in 2009, is facing the challenge tosustainthe servicesithasestablishedunder MNCH,` said sources.

After passage of 18th Amendment, each province is required to legislate about health programme and the province has included MNCH in the integrated programme, which also covers expanded programme on immunisation, nutrition and lady health workers programme.

Sources said that health houses were owned by community midwives from the same community and therefore it was convenient for women to visit those in their neighbourhood.

The monitoring report found 60 per cent of operations accurate but non-availability of medicine was described as the main factor hampering women`s treatment. It strongly recommended making medical supplies to the houses as part of the campaign to reduce deaths of mothers and newborns from preventable complications.

Dr Sahib, the MNCH coordinator, told Dawn that provincial government had pledged to release amount for purchase of medicines to keep the operations continued.

`More than 256,000 women visited the houses every year in the province due to which we reduced the deaths caused by pregnancyrelated complications,` he said.

Dr Sahib said that stoppage of medical supplies also affected their field operations.

`However, the chief minister special initiative for mother and child health is boosting the programme,` he said.

Under the special initiative, the government is giving Rs2,700 to each pregnant woman for six compulsory checkups by skilled birth attendants.

The funds issued by federal government went to salaries of staff and there was no allocation to run the health houses effectively.