QUETTA:Pathfinder International together with the Ministry of Health, Balochistan on Monday launched the multi-million-dollar Qadam Ba Qadam (QBQ) project, funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to strengthen health systems and access to post-pregnancy and post-abortion family planning.
Provincial Minister of Health Sayed Ehsan Shah was the chief guest of the event. Additional Chief Secretary Hafiz Abdul Basit, Secretary Planning and Development Abdullah Khan, Special Secretary Health Dawood Bazai, Additional Secretary Health Qaseem Kakar, Director General PWD Ghulam Mustafa, Director PWD Satar Shahwani ,Dr. Kokab, advisors to the minister of health, and Faiz Barrech were also present at the occasion to represent the Government of Balochistan.
Speaking on the occasion, Balochistan Health Minister Syed Ehsan Shah highlighted the need for investing in PPFP and PAFP, and regarded QBQ “a step in the right direction”.
Pathfinder Country Director Dr. Ayesha Rasheed and DG Health, Dr. Noor Qazi formalized the launch with the MOU signing ceremony.
QBQ is the extension of the Naya Qadam project, which indicated that the way forward is to glean best practices and embed them concretely in health systems to address the needs of each provincial DOH and PWD. Dr. Zaib Dahar from Pathfinder briefed the audience about the outcomes of QBQ.
The project would integrate and institutionalize PPFP and PAFP in provincial health system andenhance the capacity to implement gender-response SBCC strategies to generate demand for PPFP and PAFP.
Through partnering with several stakeholders, the project also aims to improve and better-use data for decision making, and document implementation learnings to inform project relevant stakeholders, on adoption and scale-up of PPFP and PAFP.