The Health, Education and Literacy Program (HELP), a non-government social welfare organization, has adopted government dispensaries in four villages of Chhachhro and Nagarparkar talukas of the desert district of Tharparkar to provide free mother and child health services to the people.
The dispensaries are located in Dhabo Sama and Sindhian Jo Wandhiyo villages of Nagarparkar and Chhachhi Juneja and Gul Mohammad Rind villages of Chhachhro taluka. With the support of district health authorities and certain donors, the HELP has renovated the dispensaries, appointed community midwives and other staff and started providing round the clock facilities to the villagers’ added Dr Harji Bheel, the project manager of the programme.
The HELP officials said that after making the dispensaries functional, some 126 normal deliveries were carried out and 590 pregnant women were examined and post-delivery checkup of 181 women was conducted. Moreover, 205 women were provided with family planning facilities, 40 awareness sessions were held in different villages and newly born babies were vaccinated. Dr Bheel informed that under the project of Health and Nutrition Response for Drought Affected Population of Tharparkar food was also distributed among the pregnant and other women at the dispensaries.He further said that 267 lady health workers and lady health supervisors have been imparted training about the nutrition needs of girls of ten to nineteen years of age. Similarly, 300 midwives of Chhachhro Taluka have been trained in safe delivery methods. Dr Harji said that through 138 lady health workers, 2231 pregnant women were provided with safe delivery kits while in 82 villages of Chhachhro food supplements were distributed among 1231 pregnant women and 1233 young girls. He said that the solar system had been installed at all the four dispensaries so that the health services could be provided uninterrupted supply of the electricity round the clock. “We have also installed a submersible pump at each dispensary to meet the water drinking requirement,” he added.” The dispensaries are well-equipped having furniture, labor room, accommodation for midwife, kitchen and washroom. Each dispensary has four staff members including two community midwives, a midwife and a watchman,” Dr Bheel added