PROJECT
Pakistan Initiative for Mothers and Newborns (PAIMAN)

The Pakistan Initiative for Mothers and Newborns (PAIMAN) is a five-year project designed to assist the government of Pakistan in implementing the full spectrum of interventions necessary to address mother and newborn health. The project, begun in mid-2005, focuses on ten districts throughout Pakistan.

The project leadership, an eight-partner consortium led by John Snow, Inc., includes Pakistani and international organizations: the Aga Khan Foundation, Contech International Health Consultants, Greenstar Social Marketing, Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs, Pakistan Voluntary Health and Nutrition Association, the Population Council, and Save the Children USA. Other organizations have offered to help with specific aspects of the project.

The project’s preliminary strategic framework was developed after initial discussions among the partners and stakeholders; this framework will be revisited as the project progresses. The project workplan also was developed during this period.

Pakistan’s maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity rates are high despite an extensive health service network. One of the main issues is insufficient awareness among women, families, and attendants of major maternal and newborn complications. Most maternal and newborn deaths occur at home without a skilled health provider attending. According to available statistics, over 80 percent of women deliver at home,  and trained health professionals conduct only 5 percent of these deliveries. This is true despite the fact that Pakistan has an extensive network of public-sector delivery facilities; however, they reach only about one-third of the country’s population. Seventy percent of the population are served by the private sector.

Many factors come into play regarding the high maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality rates. The PAIMAN project is exploring all of these factors, including sociocultural issues, lack of awareness within communities, nonavailability of skilled staff, bureaucratic and political issues (e.g., those that have an impact on staffing and accountability), difficulties with vertical service-delivery programs, the lack of a regulatory framework for the private sector, low levels of health care spending, and the lack of coordination between stakeholders and partners.

The PAIMAN team works closely with the government of Pakistan and other partners in formulating the vision and strategies for this project. PAIMAN intends to reduce maternal, newborn, and child mortality in Pakistan through viable and demonstrable initiatives and capacity building of existing programs and structures within health systems and communities. Doing so will ensure improvement and supportive links in the continuum of health care for women from the home to the hospital. The project’s strategic framework lays out wide-ranging programmatic objectives and implementation strategies and anticipated outcomes for the project.

Within the project, the Council’s specific responsibility is to oversee the management of the monitoring and evaluation component, including operations research and knowledge management.

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Population Council researchers

Zeba A. Sathar, Arshad Mahmood, Muhammad Shafique Arif, Zakir Hussain Shah, Abdul Wajid

Non-Council collaborators

Aga Khan Foundation

Contech International Health Consultants

Greenstar Social Marketing

John Snow, Inc.

Johns Hopkins University Center for Communication Programs

Pakistan Voluntary Health and Nutrition Association

Save the Children USA

Donor

US Agency for International Development

Publications/Resources
Council researchers' names appear in boldface type.

2008
PAIMAN News Roundup no. 2. Islamabad: Population Council. (offsite link)

Pakistan Initiative for Mothers and Newborns (PAIMAN). "Assessing routine health information system in selected PAIMAN districts by using lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) technique." Islamabad: Population Council. (PDF)

Pakistan Initiative for Mothers and Newborns (PAIMAN). "Assessment of knowledge and attitudes of married women on maternal and newborn health (MNH) in selected union councils of project districts." Islamabad: Population Council. (PDF)

2006
Pakistan Initiative for Mothers and Newborns (PAIMAN). "Baseline household survey" and "Baseline survey: Summary report," baseline survey results for ten districts in Pakistan. Islamabad: Population Council. (offsite link)

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