The Department of Community Health Sciences (CHS), AKU, in partnership with University of Alabama (UAB), USA, is launching a series of studies aimed at improving maternal and child survival in Pakistan.

This is part of the recently established Global Network for Research on Maternal and Child Health, which is being funded by the National Institute of Health, (NIH) and Fogarty International, both in USA. Of the $2.5 million granted by NIH, $1.6 million will be utilised by AKU. The Research Triangle Institute (North Carolina) will serve as the data management partner for the entire Global Network. This global initiative will contribute significantly to further strengthening the research capacity of CHS in particular and AKU in general.

The initiative starts with a two-year study on "identifying the determinants of adverse pregnancy outcomes in rural and urban Pakistan." AKU will work in partnership with the Aga Khan Health Service, Pakistan (AKHS, P) and the Ministry of Health, Government of Sindh. The prime study sites will be Hyderabad and Karachi (Rehri Goth and surrounding villages) in the province of Sindh. The determinants being studied include reproductive tract infections of different kinds, as well as physical, dental, nutritional, psycho-social and behavioural factors. Approximately 3,000 pregnant women will form the study subjects.

Based on the findings of this study, appropriate interventions to address Reproductive Tract Infections will be developed and field-tested in Pakistan over the next three years. It is expected that these interventions, once successfully field-tested, could be widely used for improving maternal and child survival in Pakistan and other developing countries. Given the critical state of maternal and child health in Pakistan, the study is extremely relevant, timely and has the potential to contribute significantly towards improving reproductive health in the country.

A team of experts from various departments of AKU, under the guidance of CHS is engaged in designing the study and developing all necessary tools. The study is expected to begin in January 2002.