Family planning project 'Marvi' inaugurated

Funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, project will operate in Tharparkar and Thatta districts

KARACHI: A family planning-related project, 'Marvi', was inaugurated on Thursday in Karachi.

Addressing the ceremony, Population Welfare Minister Mumtaz Hussain Khan Jakhrani said family planning allowed couples to utilise available resources effectively for the family's wellbeing, resulting in financial stability and improvement in the nutrition and health of the family members.

"Voluntary family planning lessens the pressure of rapid population growth on social, environmental and economic infrastructures while reducing the risks of illnesses to women and children," Jakhrani maintained.

The project is carried out by the Health and Nutrition Development Society (HANDS) in collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for provision of quality family planning services to the underprivileged population in two districts of Sindh, Tharparkar and Thatta, with the estimated cost of Rs500 million for four years, said HANDS Chief Executive Dr Tanveer Ahmed.



Dr Ahmed added that a special focus will be on the Thar area in the project to control its increasing population.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was founded by Microsoft Corporation co-founder Bill Gates. According to Dr Ahmed, Gates and his spouse wanted to improve the worsening living conditions in Thar and they donated funds to address inappropriate birth spacing in the area.

Dr Ahmed informed the ceremony that areas of Tharparkar and Thatta districts were out of lady health workers' reach. He added that many other public sector services were not available in the districts, which is why they were chosen for the project after due consultation with the population welfare department.

The project has been planned to cater to approximately one million population to address the unmet need of family planning services through professional and dedicated teams of 945 grass root community workers - Marvis.

"The aim of this project is to support the Sindh government in achieving 45% contraceptive prevalence rate by 2020," said the HANDS chief executive.



Dr Ahmed stated that the population welfare department had signed a memorandum of understanding with HANDS for provision of contraceptives in targeted areas of Sindh.

The speakers also stressed educating the public for controlling population. "We need to change norms and values of people living in underprivileged areas of our country," said Health Policy Plus Country Director Rahal Saeed.

Pathfinder International Country Director Dr Tabinda Sarosh called for stopping early marriages. The earlier the girls get married, the more the mothers and children will face problems, she asserted.

Population Welfare Director-General (DG) Ashfaque Ali Shah called lady health workers and teams such as Marvis an army which was fighting against ignorance and disease. Integrated community workers can make a big difference in health care, said Health DG Dr Akhlaq Ahmed.