DHAKA, March 10, 2021 (BSS)- High officials and experts have mentioned that integrated efforts of all the government and non-government
organizations concerned is very effective to ensure maternal, neonatal and
child health services within the primary healthcare system.
All the field level organizations related to maternal and neonatal health
should perform their duties with utmost sincerity and honesty to reflect the
hopes and aspirations of the grassroots marginalized people.
The speakers made these observations while addressing a national
coordination meeting among Director General of Health Services (DGHS),
Director General of Family Planning (DGFP), DASCOH Foundation and Swiss Red
Cross at BRAC Center Inn, Mohakhali today.
DASCOH Foundation and Swiss Red Cross jointly organized the meeting under
the ‘Public Health Improvement Initiative Rajshahi (PHIIR) Project’ to
strengthen maternal, neonatal and child healthcare within the primary
healthcare system.
The meeting was told that the PHIIR project is being implemented in 110
community clinics, 42 Union Health and Family Welfare Centres and five
Upazila Health Complexes in Rajshahi and Naogaon districts since 2013 in
order to improve health status at primary healthcare and mother, neonatal and
child health.
Director General of Directorate General of Health Services Professor
Khurshid Alam addressed the meeting as the chief guest while Director General
of Directorate General of Family Planning Shahan Ara Banu was in the chair.
Professor Khurshid Alam said establishment of a standard and structured
referral system is essential and ensuring accessible referral services is
only possible through adequate coordination between the different tires and
availability of the referred services.
He added that ensuring basic emergency obstetric and neonatal care and
comprehensive emergency obstetric and neonatal care services at primary
healthcare level is always a challenge and the government is working all over
the country to mitigate through different initiatives.
In her remarks, Shahan Ara Banu stressed the need for strengthening
community awareness and facility readiness besides deployment of trained
service providers to address the root cause of maternal mortality and infant
mortality rate.
DASCOH Foundation Chief Executive Officer Akramul Haque gave an
illustration of the project along with its aims, objectives and
implementation strategy during his multimedia presentation. SRC Country
Representative Amitabh Sharma also detailed the project activities.
The meeting shared progress of the project besides discussing the
challenges of ensuring comprehensive emergency obstetric and neonatal care at
primary healthcare tires and how to face the challenges collectively.
Participants in table talks stressed the need for compliance of private
providers with standard quality of care and services. Coordinated efforts
between DGHS and DGFP can be the vital means of attaining desired results at
primary healthcare level, they mentioned.
Exit strategy and sustainability of project initiatives also came up for
discussion elaborately.
Around 35 officials and experts from DGHS and DGFP along with their
Rajshahi divisional directors and officials of the two districts joined the
workshop.