Message From The President
Welcome to the National Committee for Maternal and Neonatal Health (NCMNH). Looking back,
I feel satisfied with all that we have achieved, and look forward to achieving more.
NCMNH began as the National Committee for Maternal Health in 1994 and was set up as the Technical Arm of the Ministry of Health by the then Prime Minister Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto. It was given the task of reducing Maternal Morbidity and Mortality in Pakistan. However, since the health of the neonate is closely related to that of the mother, we decided to take up the issue of high neonatal mortality as well. Hence in 2005 Neonatal Health was included in our mandate and NCMH was renamed NCMNH.
The need to set up NCMNH arose because there was no strategy or action plan to improve Maternal and Neonatal health at provincial or national levels. While there were efforts being made by individuals and organizations, these were isolated and uncoordinated. NCMNH has been working towards addressing this situation.
NCMNH advises and engages in advocacy with policy makers at the district, provincial and national levels, develops training and health education materials, functions as an information dissemination and resource center, and monitors and evaluates maternal and neonatal health services. NCMNH has played a significant role in drawing up the framework of the Maternal and Neonatal Heath Policy which has been incorporated in the National Health Policy, resulting in the MNCH Programmes. It has formed partnerships with professional bodies, academic institutions, international organizations, non government organizations (NGOs), and local organizations. NCMNH also works on multiple projects related to Maternal and Neonatal health with the Government and various NGOs. To enhance its role, NCMNH helped to establish two partner organizations, the Midwifery Association of Pakistan (MAP) in 2005, and the Association for Mothers and Newborns (AMAN) in 2007.
Our challenge is significant and a great responsibility, as the determinants of maternal and neonatal deaths and disabilities are diverse. Improving health services alone is not enough. Much more is required, particularly in the following areas:
• Sensitizing communities, particularly women, to the need for proper care and vigilance during pregnancy, childbirth and the immediate post-partum period
• Taking concrete steps at all levels to address poverty, under nutrition, multiparity, lack of education, poor status of women in society and lack of access to quality health care.
Technical expertise has now become our strength. It is the active participation of our team and the awareness created through this website and its visitors that gives us the courage to carry on our endeavors. I, on behalf of the Committee, offer our services to all those who wish to avail them. Thank you all for visiting our website and being part of this critically important campaign to save women’s and newborns’ lives in Pakistan.
