Up-graded facilities: Health dept claims 24 BHUs fully functional

RAWALPINDI:

The Rawalpindi Health Department has completed the process of upgrading basic health units (BHUs) in the division which will now remain functional round-the-clock seven days a week.

The process for upgrading the BHUs began in May and is expected to be completed by the end of this month.

Dr Muhammad Javed Iqbal, district coordinator for Maternal Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) programme and focal person for the BHUs, told The Express Tribune that the initiative was taken to curtail infant mortality rate and maternal mortality ratio.

Since Pakistan ranked very low on mortality rate indexes, the up-gradation was an attempt to meet the millennium development goals, explained the official.

Iqbal said the main object of the BHUs was round-the-clock provision of pre- and post-natal services under the MNCH programme.

He added that although rural health centres were already functioning round-the-clock, they were inadequate in meeting demands of residents of rural areas.

After up-gradation, six units are fully functional in Rawalpindi District, six in Gujjar Khan, two in Kallar Syedan, two in Kolti Sathiyan, three in Murree and three BHUs in Taxila.

Iqbal said the remaining two BHUs, located in Jabbar Darwesh and Sandh Sarola, were expected to become functional by June 30.

He said two maids, two security guards and four lady health workers (LHWs) were appointed at each unit and the process of induction had been completed. The funding for security guards had been provided by the Punjab Government, he shared.

Explaining the composition of staff at the BHUs, he said two of the four LHWs appointed at each BHU were made available by the city district government authorities while the other two were hired under the MNCH programme.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 24^th, 2015.