Punjab Health Profile, Health Department, Pakistan

July 6, 2013 by PharmaReviews

Punjab Demographics

Area (sq. kilo meters) 205,345
Average Population 396.1 persons per square kilometer
Estimated Population Above 81 Million
Population in Rural Areas (%) 70
Population in Urban Areas (%) 30%
Ratio of Male & Female 111:100
Population of Infants (%) 2.5
Population under 5 years (%) 14.25
Population under 15 years (%) 43
Women in Child Bearing Age 15 – 49 years (22% of the total population)
Women Estimated to be pregnant Every Year (%) 4.5

Health Indicators

Area (sq. kilo meters): Punjab constitutes more than half the population of Pakistan. In spite of extensive network of health care facilities, health status of the people of the province as a whole is below the desired level. Infant mortality rate is 77 per 1000 live births. Under 5 mortality rate is 112 per 1000 live births. Maternal mortality ratio is estimated to be 300 per 100,000 live births, lower than the national figure 350. Total fertility rate in the province is estimated to be 4.7. 92 percent of the population has access to improved drinking water sources; whereas 58 percent of the population in the province has access to sanitation.

Currently there are about four million malnourished children in Punjab, and about a third of all pregnant women are estimated to have iron deficiency anemia. Over 34 percent of children under the age of five years are short for their age; over 10 percent are under weight for their age and over half anemic. Malnutrition is a major contributor to infant and maternal deaths.

Factors behind Poor Health

Poor health status is in part explained by poverty, low levels of education especially for women, low status of women in large segments of society, and inadequate sanitation and potable water facilities, low spending/expenditure on health even by Asian standards (0.7% as compared to 1.3%, World Bank report). It is also strongly related to serious deficiencies in health services, both in public and private sectors.

Selected health and facility indicators of Punjab

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