Forum for Safe Motherhood

The COVID-19 pandemic has made the world realize the significance of healthcare. Many governments, including Pakistan's, are now allocating more funds towards strengthening their healthcare systems. Resultantly, there is now a need to identify a key healthcare area for diverting funds based on Value for Money (VfM) analysis. Ensuring Value for Money during COVID 19 Value for Money (VfM) analysis is an essential decision-making tool used for aiding the allocation of government funds. It aims to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of outputs for each penny spent. This analysis helps in picking up projects that are cost-effective and maximize benefit to the general public. It is also an accountability tool and aids in avoiding the plunder of public funds. When observing government's COVID interventions, some major steps dominate the scene and are immediately visible. These include government's immediate response to the pandemic which was to increase the number of hospit

"Health is like money; we never have a true idea of its value until we lose it."- Josh Billings The COVID-19 pandemic, a catastrophic event, has made the whole world realize the significance of good health, making it more valuable than money. Many countries' inadequate response to this pandemic has revealed that health is often a neglected human right. These countries, including Pakistan, see the current outbreak as a crisis devoid of human rights considerations. Though the number of cases in Pakistan have reduced to a great extent, experts predict a devastating second wave due to negligence on the part of people. Pakistan's efforts against the first wave of COVID cases were impressive; with the incorporation of the human rights approach into this, the situation will be even more promising. Health – A Fundamental Human Right The right to health, or more formally, the right to the highest attainable standards of physical and mental health, was first recognized in the

COVID 19 – The Initial Response A novel strain of coronavirus — SARS-CoV-2 —reported in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, spread to more than 200 countries worldwide and was declared a Global Pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO). Drastic actions were taken by governments and authorities globally. As a result, lockdowns, social distancing, work from home, restrictions on social gatherings, isolation of those with symptoms, and diversion of most funds and health workforce to the COVID response became the norm the world over. Primary healthcare services were almost immediately slashed, with many services like Family Planning (FP), Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (MNCH) care, and immunization put on hold as Outpatient Departments (OPDs) were closed. COVID-19 & Health Services The health service delivery for elective cases halted, and preventive services decreased . Given the huge influx of COVID patients, health workers, supplies and medical equipment were channeled exclu