Sindh To Expand Mother Child Health Initiative Program

KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Jan, 2018 ) :Strong need was felt here on other day to not only sustain but also to expand on self help basis USAID funded Mother Child Health Initiative Program (MCHIP) undertaken in 15 select districts of Sindh .

Dr. Farid Midhat, Country Director of Jhipego, the lead organization for the Maternal, New Born and Child Health (MNCH)Services Component of USAID, in a press conference said achievements made under the five year program to provide high quality Maternal, New Born and Child Health (MNCH) services could be made possible through efficient support extended by the provincial government.

"The training provided to the staffers and healthcare personnel associated with healthcare facilities right from Basic Health Units to full fledged hospitals could not be possible without meaningful coordination between public and private sector," he said.

It was claimed that under the program special focus was on empowering the communities who could now be witnessed actually demanding immunization coverage for their children offered under expanded Program on Immunization.

Districts covered under MCHIP included Dadu, Khairpur,Thatta/Sujawal/, Tando Allahyar, Tharparkar, Jacobabad, Sukkur,Shikarpur, Ghotki, Larkana, Naushero Feroze, Sanhghar, Matiari,Mirpurkhas and Umerkot.

Since training was an integral component hence equal attention was said to be paid towards skill development among community health workers (along with lady health workers and midwives) to keep a vigil on the needs of expecting mothers and babies born to them.

This was claimed to had not only help providing quality delivery services to the pregnant women at their very door steps but also facilitate timely referral of complications to the nearest health centers (hospitals) equipped with needed interventions.

"This was crucial as postpartum hemorrhage leading to excessive bleeding is the highest cause of maternal deaths in our environments,"said the program coordinator. As for Sindh, he said it was 27.2% followed by infection (13.7%)often caused due to disregard for hygiene during delivery.

Interventions offered under MCH integrated Program was said to also enhance anti tetanus coverage of women falling under reproductive age group. To a query about transportation of women in need of emergency obstetric (including excessive bleeding), he said it had always remained a major challenge particularly in remote areas.

"To address this a network of volunteers was developed under the program who were provided with needed capacity building to transport the women in need of emergency obstetric care," said Dr. Midhat The contact numbers of these volunteer drivers belonging to the concerned communities were not only available with the LHWs and Community Health Workers but also prominently displayed at the healthcare facilities.

According to the MCH Integrated Program coordinator toll free number of Aman Ambulance Service was further made available to the people who on basis of a single call could get immediately linked to the volunteer committed to provide transportation facility.

To a volley of questions raised by the media personnel about statistics generated during the five program, initiated in 2013, Dr.Midhat said this could be shared after completion of the program in March this year.

"I can always assure you that mark difference has been made in the life quality of women and children and holds every room for replication across the province. He also thanked Save the Children, PATH and JSI for their support in related interventions including provision for efficient family planning services.

Dr. Wajiha Javed, Adviser, Monitoring , Evaluation and Research,Jhpiego, said training of healthcare providers during the five year program has helped meeting the shortage of trained personnel in government facilities.

"Personnel trained during the period were inducted by the provincial health department and could be witnessed serving at the facilities that previously were largely devoid of trained staff," he said.

Dr. Kamran Baig on the occasion said more than 2000 drivers pertaining to several of the districts had volunteered their services for the cause of transporting women and children in need of emergency medical care.

Relevant training was said to have been provided to them for the purpose whereas immunization coverage were claimed to have achieved to optimum in eight districts including Khairpur, Thatta, Sajawal,Tharparkar, Umderkot, Tando Allahyar, Jacobanad and Matiari.

"We have also managed to develop a registry encompassing details of children falling in related age groups and their status with regard to episodes received by them," said Dr. Kamran Baig. APP/rh/pas