The general objective of this programme is “to decrease the preventive health problems of the communities ”. Specific objectives of the programme are:
- To upgrade the knowledge and skills through community health awareness, and thus reduce morbidity and mortality in disadvantaged rural women and children;
- To train female and male health workers in primary health care in the programme area;
- To establish an effective liaison with those governmental and non-governmental organizations involved in health education, family planning and working for the improvement of water/sanitation situation in the communities in order to further link them with community organizations.
SRSP's health strategy is essentially a three-pronged one i.e.
- Creating health awareness among the rural community;
- Training of women and men health workers;
- Establishing linkages with existing health services, mainly government.
The Health Focus Programme works within the social organization framework of the SRSP, i.e. MCOs and WCOs are actively involved in selection of community health workers and these work through the village forums in disseminating health messages, delivering health services and linking up communities to health service agencies (government and non-government).
The health awareness component largely concentrates on educating women about basic health and hygiene practices. This is done by the SRSP health assistants in the regions as well as through trained health motivators and community health workers i.e. both women and men (F/MHWs).
Community health awareness includes discussions and observations regarding community health issues in order to enhance the capacity of MCOs/WCOs to respond to their problems. Health messages are disseminated in MCOs/WCOs meetings by the health workers, as well as by SRSP staff in the Managers' Conference, Health Workers' Conferences and Health field days.
The training component of the health programme concentrates on developing community health workers and health motivators in MCOs and WCOs. This component is largely executed through the staff of government Health Department as resource persons. The SRSP health staff are instrumental in curriculum design for the training, they are also responsible for contacting government and other resource persons who take training sessions, e.g. the Dost Welfare Foundation delivering lectures on problems of drug addiction, a serious issue in the NWFP and Family Planning Association of Pakistan (FPAP) supporting SRSP health component in bringing about awareness on reproductive health issues. The health workers also establish linkages with government health infrastructure and other NGOs.
The role of the female health workers includes clean and safe deliveries, general health education, and facilitation of linkages with health and family planning outlets. MCO/WCO members according to specified criteria, ensuring the confidence of the community and their willingness to serve the community at large, nominate trainees. After receiving training, the health workers are paid for their services by the community, either in cash or kind.
The Government of Pakistan and UNICEF approved curriculum is followed in training the health workers. The topics covered in the training courses are: communication skills; antenatal and postnatal care and problem cases; care and nutrition of new-borns and infants; birth spacing; diarrhoea and ORS immunisation; personal and environmental hygiene; safe drinking water and sanitation practices. The trainees are provided a health kit with essential items. The health workers receive a one-time remuneration during the training course in the form of travel and daily allowance. They are also responsible for keeping records of their activities, which are periodically examined by the SRSP health assistants. The health assistants are also responsible for monitoring the performance of the health workers.
An important objective of SRSP's Health programme is to establish and strengthen linkages between the MCOs/WCOs and government health/ NGO health facilities. In this regard, the government is extremely co-operative and has highlighted the need to work through these grassroots forums.
In the family planning sectors, the SRSP links up WCOs to the Government Population Welfare Department (PWD) and Family Planning Association of Pakistan by undertaking joint visits to WCOs with their staff.
The linkage component of the programme also includes facilitating the work of government EPI teams at the village level as well as holding field days during which various resource persons deliver lectures on health issues to MCOs and WCOs. |
