By Aynal Haque
RAJSHAHI, June 5, 2021 (BSS) – Chanduria Union Health and Family Welfare Center (UH&FWC) has appeared as blessing to pregnant mothers, providing healthcare services to them for last couple of years.
The rural health facility in Tanore Upazila of the district has been reactivated in 2019 with joint collaboration of the department of health services, local government institution and a non-government development organization.
Since then, the facility has provided 227 antenatal care (ANC), 65 postnatal care (PNC), 143 family planning, 9,245 general health and 2,074 child health care services till April last.
Maria Murmu, 20, a resident of Chanduria Adibasipara village, was blessed first with a baby through normal delivery at Chanduria UH&FWC on May 4 last.
Since her pregnancy period began, she has paid regular visits to the facility receiving ANC checkups at the centre.
Maria Murmu said her husband Nikolas Murmu is a day laborer. “Our family is not financially solvent to bear delivery costs of private clinics and district level hospitals”, she said.
Currently the mother and baby are in good health condition making all the family members happy. “I feel very happy after getting a healthy baby,” Murmu said with a smiling face.
“We’ve made the facility capable of providing necessary primary healthcare services, including ANC, PNC and neonatal,” Mojibur Rahman, Chairman of Chanduria Union Parishad (UP), said, while talking to BSS at the centre on Thursday.
He said all sorts of arrangement for ensuring normal delivery services has been made so that the public in general, particularly the needy and poor families, are benefited.
The Public Health Improvement Initiative Rajshahi (PHIIR) Project has been extending essential manpower and other support to keep the delivery services running.
On behalf of the project, the labor room was renovated besides restoring the water supply system and installing a permanent hand washing device as COVID 19 response for securing service seekers.
Rahman said the labor room was equipped with all requisite devices and apparatus for conducting normal delivery after the recruitment of Family Welfare Visitor (FWV) Nazia Akter.
“We’ve referral services for the mothers suffering from various pregnancy-related complexities like vaginal bleeding, eclampsia, severe headaches and fever and delayed labor,” said Aktar.
Three community volunteers- Bizori Khatun, Ashonti and Sheuly- are working at the facility staying at localities as full-timers. Prior to giving the assignment, they were imparted need-based training on the services.
“We move door to door in every village disseminating mothers and neonatal related information and make sure of the health services,” Sheuly said, adding they attend several mothers’ gatherings discussing the importance of institutional delivery.
After getting community response amazingly, they are very much happy over the performance of normal delivery. “We will scale up our regular activities in the days to come,” she added.
PHIIR Project Manager Tozammel Haque told BSS that a set of activities have been initiated at the UP for ensuring institutional delivery.
Various motivational activities, including mothers gathering, home visits, distribution of leaflets and posters and communication with local elites, are taking place.
ANC, PNC, neonatal, birth preparedness plan, normal delivery services, danger signs during pregnancy and after delivery are the main focuses of the community level events.
Haque said emphasis has been given on counseling of pregnant women especially those with approaching expected date of delivery in remote area over phone and WhatsApp.
DASCOH Foundation has been implementing the PHIIR project in five upazila health complexes, 42 UHFWCs and 110 Community Clinics under Bagmara, Charghat and Tanore upazilas in Rajshahi and Porsha and Sapahar upazilas in Naogaon districts for the last couple of years.
The project is intended to improving the health status of the targeted population with special focus on maternal, neonatal and child health at primary health care level.
“We have, so far, provided 4,233 ANC, 663 PNC, 4,645 family planning and 1,41,357 general and 13,371 child health care and 148 normal delivery services,” Haque said, giving an illustration of the project activities.