Maternity protection a solid investment

ILO calls for investment on maternity protection

Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu, May 10

A roundtable discussion organised by International Labour Organisation conferred on women’s unmet needs for maternity protection in the country.

Noting that lack of maternity protection leads to a substantial loss of earnings of women, discrimination, insecurity and possible demotion, not to mention health consequences for mother and child, ensuring children’s health and maternity protection represents a solid investment in the future human capital of the country, states a press release issued by ILO here on Friday.

Since almost 85 per cent of Nepali women work in informal economy, they have no access to statutory maternity protection.

Nirmala Sharma, consultant of ILO and Isme’ne Stalpers, associate expert in micro-insurance of ILO-STEP programme had presented major findings of ILO study on maternity protection services being practiced by health insurance schemes and various mechanisms provided to women workers in informal sectors in Nepal.

The study-first of its kind in Nepal- revealed that many initiatives to provide maternity care through health insurance at the community level exists. The findings show that maternal health care benefits are crucial in maintaining the standard of living of mothers and their family, states ILO.

ILO recognised the importance of maternity benefits by adopting Maternity Protection Convention (No 3) as a crucial element in the struggle to achieve equality between men and women workers.

The participants requested ILO to disseminate the informative study and to prepare technical guidelines for setting up schemes, further states the release. A call was also made for the labour act to be enforced on maternity protection, for government to review ratification of Maternity Protection Convention (No 183), social security convention (No 102) and occupational safety and health convention (No 155).

Developing partnership between the health schemes and local governmental bodies was highlighted as a way to help ensure sustainability of these schemes, states the release.