Collaborative efforts: Shirkat Gah, Health Dept look to collaborate on reproductive health

Salman Rafique explains steps the government has taken in the sector.

LAHORE: Health Department’s Integrated Reproductive, Mother, Neonatal and Child Health Programme has been very successful so far, Adviser to Chief Minister on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique said on Friday. The project will soon be extended to include NGOs working in the sector, he said.  

Rafique was talking to a delegation from Shirkat Gah at the civil secretariat. Shirkat Gah chairperson Fareeda Shahid, Health Services DG Zahid Pervaiz, Deputy Secretary (Technical) Muhammad Mohsin and Medical Education Deputy Secretary Nasir Shakir among other officers attended the meeting.

Rafique elaborated on the steps taken for the development of the health sector and the welfare of the doctors’ community under the Chief Minister’s Health Roadmap Programme.

Rafique gave details on the steps taken to improve primary and secondary healthcare and the appointment of specialist doctors.

Shahid told Rafique about Shirkat Gah’s work in the field of reproductive health and health solutions for women. She said Shirkat Gah has been working to help achieve millennium development goals and strengthen health governance.

She said Shirkat Gah was running a pilot project with these objectives in Muzaffargarh and Vehari. She said the NGO was keen on collaborating with the Punjab government so they could work on a joint platform to improve mother and child health, reproductive health and improvement in the nutrition sector.

Health Services DG Zahid Pervaiz said there were many NGOs working in the field of mother and child and reproductive health. “An overlap of services leads to an inefficient use of finances and human resources.” He said keeping the situation in view, the government had integrated the Lady Health Workers Programme, and the Reproductive, Mother, Neonatal and Child Health Programme.

The officials decided to arrange a meeting with the IRMNCH health additional director general and representatives of Shirkat Gah with the objective of extending cooperation between the Health Department and the NGO.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 16^th, 2015.