Where we Work
The Alma Bi Hospital is located at Babyam Chak 474 - near to Pindi Bhattian (Hafizabad District) in the Punjab Province of Pakistan.
Vital Statistics
Investment in healthcare provision in Pakistan is very low compared to a large proportion of the rest of the world. According to World Health Organisation Figures for 2002, state expenditure on healthcare only amounts to £3 per head of population – this is less than 0.3% of the amount per person invested in healthcare in the UK.
This lack of investment has a severe impact on both the length and quality of life:
- 20% of children die at birth.
- 1 in 10 children die before they reach the age of 5 (1 in 100 in the UK).
- Maternity is the cause of death for 1 in 31 Pakistani women (1 in 3,800 in the UK).
- Average life expectancy in the Hafizabad Distict is 50 years (29 years less than the UK).
The position is even more acute in rural araes of the country, such as the one where the Alma Hospital has been built.
The Alma Hospital will make a very significant improvement to the quality and length of life for a community of over 100,000 people who live within travelling distance of the site at Babyam Chak 474.
For most people in this area reaching any form of medical facility requires a lengthy and arduous journey. The facilities they can reach are of poor quality and, for many, are unaffordable.
The key priorities that need to be addressed are maternity care, services for children and treatment facilities for people who have had accidents working on the land.
Case Studies
The following case studies give a small demonstration of how valuable the hospital will be and why we are so concerned that it should come into operation as soon as possible.
Ghulam
Ghulam died, aged just 27
Ghulam, who was aged 27 at the time of this picture, is shown here with family members carrying him to the nearest medical facility. This was a fee paying clinic which they couldn’t afford, over 8 miles away. Due to the delay getting there and their inability to guarantee payment, Ghulam died the next day.
Ameen
This beautiful child, Ameen’s disability was caused by an accident which broke his legs when he was six. Because of the lack of access to simple medical facilities his legs did not heal properly and are permanently and unnecessarily deformed.
Ameen
Injuries like this have a devastating effect on a person's life chances - affecting their ability to learn a trade and be economically productive. The situation is particularly acute in a region where the majority of employment is still based on the land and is physical in nature.