Kathmandu, October 27:

The government should formulate a strategy to retain skilled doctors and paramedics in district hospitals so as to make the Comprehensive Abortion Care (CAC) services more effective, local agencies working for women’s reproductive rights said here today. Speaking at a workshop ‘Networking for addressing women’s reproductive rights,’ Dr Arzoo Deuba, chairperson of Save Motherhood Network Federation (SMNF), said there is a need to formulate a policy and provide incentives to young and skilled doctors to stay in remote districts to make the services effective. The workshop was jointly organised by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America-International (PPFA-I) and four local agencies. Dr Sona Sodi of PPFA-I said: “Each country must have its own programmes on reproductive rights.”

Dr Balkrishna Subedi, director at the Family Health Division, said: “Medical intervention can go a long way in bringing down high maternal mortality rate”.

Stating that the government has done everything in its capacity to retain doctors in remote

areas, Dr Subedi said “private partnership” is also needed to retain doctors in those areas.

Together with Safe Motherhood Network Federation-Nepal, Centre for Research on Environment Health and Population Activities, Forum For Women, Law and Development (FWLD), the PPFA-I had launched a three-year country-wide programme - Networking for addressing women’s reproductive rights in Nepal (NAWRN) - in 15 districts in 2005. The agencies are working to prevent illegal and unsafe abortion practices and increase women’s access to safe abortion services in Nepal.