USAID Pakistan Building Healthy Families Activity
Pakistan’s provincial health systems face extreme challenges burdened by high population growth, low contraceptive prevalence, high abortion rates, deteriorating immunization rates, and severe malnutrition. COVID-19 has exacerbated these issues as public services have shifted to support pandemic response efforts, leading to increasingly low utilization of family planning (FP) and maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) services due to historically present socio-economic barriers, discontinuation of modern contraceptives, and minimal investment into already weak health maternal health systems.
The USAID-funded Pakistan Building Healthy Families Activity (BHFA), implemented by Pathfinder International and Chemonics, works across the public and private sectors to increase the capacity of national and provincial governments of Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to provide FP/MNCH services. By targeting government officials, health providers, and male and youth population groups, BHFA improves access to services, quality of care, and utilization by the community through empowered engagement.
By focusing on strategic technical assistance with key stakeholders in government and private institutions, the project can achieve increased uptake of FP/MNCH products and services, as well as widespread behavior change, while mitigating the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
