According to official sources, the targeted population covered by LHWs stood at 71 percent in FY05. There are a total of 85,942 LHWs in FY05 of which 19 percent serve in urban areas while the remaining 81percent work in rural areas.
As urban areas have much better access to quality health facilities thus the need of LHW is more in rural areas.
About 52 percent LHWs have been appointed in Punjab, 21 percent in Sindh, 14 percent in NWFP and 6 percent in Balochistan in FY05. In FY05, more than 10,000 LHWs were deployed in the field mainly in rural Punjab.
Rural NWFP and rural Sindh have also witnessed an increase in the number of LHWs. However, rural and urban areas in Balochistan observed a decline in the number of LHWs.
It may be recalled that the Lady Health Workers (LHWs) Programme was designed in the early 1990s with an objective to provide basic community services to all rural and low-income urban areas in the country. It appears to be a success story in the health sector.
A LHW registers approximately 200 households or 1000 individuals in her community to whom she offers a range of preventive services, including family planning.