BSS, Rajshahi :
By dint of time-fitting and multidimensional interventions, many of the poor and marginalized pregnant mothers and adolescent girls are availing their essential antenatal and postnatal along with reproductive health services in the city eradicating pregnancy and childbirth related complications remarkably.
With this breakthrough, the rate of maternal and infant mortality and morbidity has been reduced to a greater extent. Actually, such type of incident has now become rare at present even among the underprivileged areas and communities, said Azuba Aktar Sumi, a housewife of Boro Bangram area.
“I myself received all sorts of antenatal and postnatal cares during my pregnancy and delivery time from Tilottoma, a Voluntary Women’s Organization, at Nawdapara” she said while talking to BSS here Monday lapping her three months baby.
The best practices are being witnesses in all its covering areas as many of the poor people have realized the importance of safe delivery for their happiness.
Side by side with the government agencies many non-government organizations are implementing need-based projects for qualitative and quantitative improvement in reproductive health services.
More than one lakh poor and slum people particularly pregnant mothers and adolescent girls forty percent of them are poor and extreme poor have been brought under the “NGO Health Service Delivery Project (NHSDP)” in the city.
Tilottoma is implementing the five-year project in the brand name of ‘smiling sun health clinic’ with technical and financial support from USAID-DFID.
Abjalur Rashid Palash, Director of the project, says smiling Sun clinics always provide essential healthcare services at the door step for the poor and poorest people through 14 clinic locations in the region including Rajshahi City and more than 220 community health workers along with the support groups.
As a whole, the NHSDP is managing and providing quality services reaching poor and underserved populations in urban and rural areas. Expanded access to and use of the essential health care services has started improving health outcomes and significantly contributing to decreasing fertility and maternal, infant, and child mortality.
All the workers are committed to maximize results in a cost-effective manner and innovative approaches to earn confidence of the service-recipients.
Prior to providing services, demand has been created among the community. Some iconic interventions were promoted among the pregnant mothers in order to make the surrounding people and service providers aware and alert about emergency need and services relating to the pregnancy for safe delivery.
Hoisting of red flag on the expecting mothers house is being adjudged as her location to the community as well as the service providers. Initiation of household-based small savings called ‘Mayer Bank’ has created a new dimension in terms of contributing to face any emergency crisis during pregnancy and delivery.
Palash said some major issues like increasing access to and use of the essential service package, especially among poor women, young women, newborns and under five besides improving healthy behaviors and care seeking practices and enhancing ownership of service delivery are being maintained strictly.
“We are seeing many school and college girls are coming to their respective nearby clinics for TT vaccination willingly,” said Dr Mahfuza Shirin, Medical Officer of the project. The TT vaccine is given to women during their childbearing age (15-49 years) to protect them from tetanus during their whole reproductive life and their newborns from neonatal tetanus.
Dr Shirin mentioned that neonatal tetanus is a fatal disease, caused by a pathogen transmitted during or after childbirth in unhygienic delivery. A woman needs a total of five TT doses for the protection of the whole reproductive period.
Nizam Ul Azim, Acting Mayor of Rajshahi City Corporation, said: “Improving the health of poor mothers and their babies is a priority for the Bangladesh government”.
The project is supporting the poorest women to give birth safely, under skilled care, giving mothers and babies the best opportunity to thrive and helping to prevent such tragic and unnecessary deaths immensely contributing to the government endeavor, he added.
