Lalitpur, January 22:

A central level coordination of Ministries of Health and Population (MoHP) and Women, Children and Social Welfare with other groups has sought to execute reproductive health programmes and its follow-up activities in the rural areas. The move is aimed at ensuring the efficacy of reproductive health check-up and treatment services there.

Sulochana Shrestha, gender and development specialist with the National United Nations Volunteers, said, “The factor of inadequate efforts is clear from the feedback that has been received from the reproductive health check-up camps and also the treatment support activities carried out in 39 village development committees (VDCs) of 13 districts in 2005 by the Department of Women’s Development (DWD) and the SNIP project of UNFPA.”

“As matters stand, the coordination at the district-level organised in close collaboration with Women’s Development Office, District Health Office, hospitals, health posts, sub-health posts, local authorities and concerned NGOs is not enough to effectively hold reproductive health camps,” Shrestha added.

Shrestha said that reproductive health service was a technical matter and that the central level collaboration would help to carry out follow-up action programme.

This would make easier activities like mobilising doctors and health workers, providing medical equipments, monitoring patients and referring them to hospitals and supplying medicines, she said.

Shrestha also said that a total of 7441 women have benefitted from the reproductive health camps.

The najority of these women were identified as suffering from various problems, including prolapsed uterus, uterine erosion, lower abdominal pain and leucorrhea (white water discharge), sexually transmitted infections (STI), irregular and painful menstruation, bleeding, back pain, problems in pregnancy, pain after operation of the uterus.

The Women’s Development Office and various other related organisations try their best to encourage the women to come forward to avail of the health services. The DWO and other organisations also try to help the women overcome their shyness in approaching the health service providers and disclosing to them their problems, said Shrestha.

“Issues like, monitoring of field activities, providing services and technical guidance are addressed by the health sector,” Shrestha added.

Department of Women’s Development director Keshav Prasad Regmi said, “Reproductive health camps have always been carried out in collaboration with the health sector, both at the local and central levels.” He added that the DWD works on the management side of the camps and encourages more participation of women in the camp while the health sector works on the technical side of the camps.