A new telephone health service in Pakistan is reported to provide basic free medical information and advice to women by mobile telephone. Financial costs, low literacy rates and confidentiality issues have traditionally been barriers to women receiving medical information that in some cases could save their lives.
The phone health service aims to provide a better way for women to communicate their problem to medical staff, because women are traditionally accompanied to medical facilities by male relatives. Women may not speak openly about their medical problems, or the male present may do the speaking for the woman patient. There are also cases in which women do not want it known that they are seeking medical advice or treatment, and without such a resource these women may not reach out for information and care. Questions related to pregnancy are a particular area of focus for the phone service.
The call center has been active in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, for the past 18 months. It’s the first of its kind there, although similar programs exist in India. And even though the service targets women, presently a large percentage of callers are men. This is most likely due to more men owning mobile phones in the area, and a relatively low awareness of the program by Karachi women. A publicity campaign is planned for next month, and organizers expect a sharp rise in calls from women to seek vital information.