Pop star wants to help mothers

ISLAMABAD: Seven years ago, Pakistani pop star Abrarul Haq was spending the spoils of his newfound fame on fast cars and a rock star lifestyle.

He was about to buy himself a private jet when a personal tragedy gave him a new perspective on life. “I could have bought the jet. I was very serious about it. Then I lost my mother in 1996 and life suddenly changed,” Mr Haq said.

The singer of the best-selling album, Bilo Day Ghar, who is also popular in the United States and Europe, decided to put his stardom to good use.

“If people follow you, it’s a great opportunity given by God and you should use it before the fame dies,” he said. Mr Haq decided to concentrate on a problem that kills thousands of women needlessly every year.

“Every 20 minutes in Pakistan, we lose a young mother because of delivery and obstetric problems,” he said. “It’s like a jumbo jet full of women that crashes every week and we don’t even know about it.”

He set up the Sahara for Life Trust to oversee the building of a hospital, complete with a mother and baby unit, in Narowal district, 80 kilometres from Lahore.

This June, after seven years of work, the Sahara opened the hospital - the Sughra and Shafi Medical Complex. It offers outpatient check-ups for pregnant women and new babies, family planning advice and medication.

The 120-bed in-patient complex is due to open in January, after a final fund raising push currently underway. Before the hospital was opened, local women simply went without medical help during childbirth. “Because of the remoteness of the area, it’s two-and-a-half hours drive from Lahore, people were dying on the road on the way,” he said. With only 19 percent of births in Pakistan assisted by a doctor, nurse or midwife, lack of medical care in rural areas costs many mothers their lives.

Most who die in labour or during pregnancy suffer from problems such as high blood pressure or excessive bleeding that could be treated with minimal medical intervention.

And one-quarter of infant deaths are caused by tetanus – easily prevented by vaccinating the pregnant mother. If a mother lives within travelling distance of emergency obstetric care, she reduces her chances of dying from post-delivery excessive bleeding - the single biggest killer of mothers in Pakistan - from one in 652 to one in 1,052, according to a United Nations Population Fund research.

By the time a family identifies that a mother’s medical condition is severe enough to need hospital treatment, it is often too late to save her life. Then there is the question of money - women often die for the lack of a few hundred rupees.

“For these women, their family won’t take them to hospital because the travel, staying in Lahore and buying food costs lots of money for people from a village. So they leave it to God, saying if they survive, they survive. It’s so depressing,” Mr Haq said. The Sahara decided the medical centre should provide all its services regardless of a patient’s ability to pay. “For the people who cannot afford medicines and consultation fees, we offer it free, totally, whatever the cost,” said Faheem Ikram Butt, administrator at the Sughra and Shafi Medical Complex.

Perveen Mukhtar, a 50-year-old mother from Bulaki, Narowal district, said, “I came after I heard about the medicine and check-ups that are free after you pay the 10-rupees registration. This hospital provides modern medical facilities for peasants like us in Narowal. This was never possible before.” —APP



I AM VERY PROUD OF THIS MAN!SHEHZAD ROY, JAWAD AHMAD,AND MEERA ARE DOING THE SAME! I WISH SOMEONE COULD GIVE ME INFORMATION HOW WE CAN SUPPOR THEM!