The Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) Services Component of USAID Pakistan’s Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Programme, also known as the Maternal and Child Health Integrated Programme (MCHIP), led by Jhpiego and implemented by international, local and private partners, organised a meeting in Khairpur to recognise achievements and mark the end of activities under MCHIP.
The event hosted dignitaries and representatives from government as well as private sector, and was attended by Riaz Wasan, ADC, Khairpur, as the chief guest.
The event was organised as part of the project’s closeout ceremony, where the knowledge gained and lessons learned pertaining to Khairpur were shared with relevant stakeholders.
Wasan, expressing his valuable remarks, said that they had been affiliated with MCHIP interventions since long and extended full support during all initiatives taken by MCHIP Jhpiego in Sindh in general and Khairpur in particular. He further said that NGOs were not responsible for full time support but departments were sustainable sources of development so, we should acknowledge their efforts and understand our actual responsibility toward this society.
Wasan acknowledged that MCHIP had successfully completed all of its assigned field interventions in 16 focused districts of Sindh under the USAID’s Maternal and Child Health Program, the aim of which was to contribute to improvements in maternal, neonatal and child health. Other speakers, including DHO Nisar Ali Phulpoto, Dr Bushra Rameja, Kashmala Asghar, Sajid Mallah, Dr Irfan Yousuf, Dr Aziz Bhutto, Dr Wocha Ram, Dr. Hanif Memon and distinguished guests from private hospitals, IHS and local NGOs acknowledged the efforts of MCHIP and appreciated it interventions in context of improving the service delivery of quality health care and enhancing the technical capacity of health care providers and skilled birth attendants of private and public health facilities.
MCHIP’s areas of support included training of healthcare providers through group and on-the-job training modules, provision of supplies and equipment at its supported health facilities, minor repairs and renovation at selected facilities, and supportive supervisory visits by district technical staff. It made significant strides in revitalization of community midwives and Lady Health Workers through a host of interventions, including improving their clinical and communication business skills. MCHIP also extended extensive support to the district Khairpur to strengthen routine immunization, including registration and vaccination of pregnant women and children less than two years of age.
In light of these interventions, Dr Saima Memon shared their experiences working with MCHIP and highlighted important next steps and the way forward. MCHIP took several steps to ensure the sustainability of interventions beyond the life of the project. It was noted that MCHIP handed over all training packages and profiles of trainers that were trained by MCHIP on different maternal and newborn/FP training modules, so that they can be utilized by Department of Health (DOH) after the project ends.
Handing over also included sharing of the real-time monitoring software with the district Monitoring and Evaluation cells, handing over of Mobile Service Units to DOH, and sharing of immunization database. Additionally, MCHIP and the Lady Health Worker (LHW) Program have finalized a strategy for sustaining the Community Health Workers (CHWs) and absorbing them into the LHW force in the province. DOH has endorsed the CHWs as an available, trained resource for LHW Program’s next phase of hiring.
Same events took place for Jacobabad, Shikarpur, Larkana, Sukkur, Sanghar, Tando Allahyar, Noshehro Feroz, Thatta, Dadu, Umarkot, Tharparkar, Mirpurkhas, Matiyari and Ghotki districts.