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Speakers at a seminar organized by Pathfinder International say political will is necessary to address the unmet need for family planning and other women's health services in Pakistan

Investing in women’s health not only improves her life, but the quality of life of her family, community and eventually her country. More than half of the world’s unpaid labour comes from women, therefore, their contribution needs to be recognised.

Experts from Pathfinder International and the Marie Stopes Society emphasize the importance of family planning and birth spacing as a part of reducing the maternal mortality rate in Pakistan.

“Couples continue to suffer due to lack of awareness of modern family planning methods. Six percent of mothers of all ages die due to unsafe abortions. Keeping these facts in mind, the event focused on having a discussion on what should be done to address and eventually eradicate these maladies."

Pathfinder International, as a member of the Pakistan Reproductive Health Network, joins in sharing the grief and outrage of other NGO and civil society organizations over the deaths of health workers in Pakistan.

One in every 89 Pakistani women will die of childbirth-related causes compared to 1 in 8,000 in the developed world.

“We have committed a lot but funding support toward the achievement of these is quite insufficient. With this pace of growth and lack of family planning policy it is difficult for Pakistan to achieve the targets by 2015, rather it would require the next 10 years to do achieve these goals,” Tauseef Ahmed, Pathfinder's Pakistan Country Representative, said.

Rates of cervical cancer in Pakistan are grounds for concern while many resist HPV Vaccine.

On a visit to St Paul's Hospital's Cervical Cancer Prevention Unit working under Pathfinder, a starkly simple solution for early detection of cervical cancer in an economical and effective manner stared at me. The Unit consisted of three tiny rooms with the simple most equipment, and an old steel bed for patients. A senior nurse professional met us, who heads the small team responsible for detection of the earliest signs of cervical cancer of so many women, and in turn saving their lives.

In a discussion concerning family well being, speakers call for safe birth spacing, but resist permanent contraception.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Dr Tauseef Ahmed, Country Representative Pathfinder International said after consultation with religious scholars, a draft of sermons has been formulated, which will soon be published and distributed among all seminaries affiliated with Wafaqul Madaris at local and district levels. These sermons contain 10 topics, including planning in family welfare in Islam, relationship between husband and wife, importance of nikkah and related issues, reproductive health, safe motherhood, breastfeeding and teachings rights of children in Islam among others.

In a discussion concerning family planning, leaders address failure in Pakistan.

Speaking on the occasion, Pathfinder International's Country Director Dr Tauseef Ahmed said, "Pakistan has steadily improved family planning services over time but the progress has been limited due to absence of a holistic approach and poor use of evidence for programmatic development."