The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and UNICEF announced a $1.2 million contribution to strengthen maternal and newborn health care in Pakistan, as part of a wider collaboration to improve access to quality, life-saving health services across four countries in South Asia.
In Pakistan, the two-year programme will reach 410,000 mothers and newborns, strengthening the continuum of care from pregnancy through childbirth and the newborn period. The programme aims to increase antenatal care coverage and institutional delivery rates by 50 per cent, while strengthening the quality and availability of essential maternal and newborn health services.
The collaboration is part of a wider regional initiative that will reach 1.5 million mothers and 1.5 million newborns across Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
“The generous support of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is helping UNICEF strengthen the health systems and services needed to give children the best possible start in life,” said Pernille Ironside, UN Resident Coordinator Pakistan (a.i.) and UNICEF Representative in Pakistan. “Investing in sustainable and quality maternal and newborn care today means saving precious lives and building a healthier, more prosperous Pakistan where every child can survive and thrive.”
More than 700 newborns die and around 500 babies are stillborn every day in Pakistan, while approximately two mothers die every hour from pregnancy-related complications. These deaths are compounded by malnutrition, gaps in referral systems, weak supply chains and unequal access to quality health services, particularly for poor and rural communities and adolescent mothers.
Elder Kelly R. Johnson, Asia Area President of the Church, said, “We are grateful and pleased to continue our long-standing collaboration with UNICEF to improve the health and well-being of vulnerable children and mothers in Pakistan and South Asia. The Church seeks to extend care to an ever-increasing number of God’s children in need, in this case helping thousands of mothers and newborn babies in Pakistan receive access to life-saving care that will lead to a better life for each affected family.”
The programme will strengthen health systems by improving health infrastructure, ensuring the availability of essential medicines and supplies, strengthening referral mechanisms, and enhancing the quality of care for small and sick newborns. It will also build the capacity of frontline health workers to identify and effectively manage high-risk pregnancies and childbirth complications at both facility and community levels.
Stronger community engagement and accountability mechanisms, alongside improved health data systems, will enable better monitoring, evidence-based decision-making and timely action, ultimately contributing to safer pregnancies and deliveries and healthier newborns.
The collaboration builds on previous support from the Church to advance Early Childhood Development (ECD) through which 14 functional ECD centres were established across Balochistan, Punjab and Sindh, connecting child-friendly spaces with health, nutrition, rehabilitation, pediatric and protection services.
Looking ahead, the shared commitment will help strengthen the systems and services needed to ensure that mothers and newborns receive timely, skilled and quality care before, during and after childbirth – to save lives and build a healthier future for Pakistan.
