By Md Aynal Haque

RAJSHAHI, May 28, 2022 (BSS)- Sharmin Khatun, 26, a Community Volunteer (CV), has obtained a upazila level award by dint of her commitment, hard work and dedication towards delivering health services to rural people.

Posted at Shiranti Union Health and Family Welfare Centre in Sapahar Upazila of Naogaon district, Khatun has attained trust and confidence of the community people in the field of service delivery activities for the last couple of years.

Borhan Uddin, Chairman of Shiranti Union Parishod (UP), told BSS that role of the CV is very important in terms of providing emergency services related to antenatal care (ANC), delivery, postnatal care (PNC) and neonatal care to the target group of people living in the grassroots.

He said Sharmin Khatun has been working with Public Health Improvement Initiative in Rajshahi (PHIIR) Project as a CV since 2018 and she was awarded as recognition for her laudable contribution to this field.

She traveled from village to village compiling a list of pregnant mothers creating a path of identifying them and need-based service delivery to them easily. Expressing their satisfaction over her performance Sheuli Khatun, 32, wife of Faizul Kabir of Guschopara village, and Razia Sultana, 30, wife of Saidur Rahman of Masterpara village, said they were benefited enormously after getting services of ANC, delivery, PNC and neonatal care.

Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer Dr Ruhul Amin gave the award in presence of other doctors, nurses and health workers in the Upazila Health Complex on May 16 last to mark the World Nursing Day 2022. A Masters Degree student of the department of geography in Naogaon Government College and a resident of Sapahar Upazila headquarter, Sharmin Khatun talks to different mothers in the villages and encourages them for normal delivery.

UP Chairman Borhan said she can easily persuade the village mothers to be interested in normal delivery and this is her special charisma. DASCOH Foundation has been implementing the PHIIR project supported by Swiss Red Cross (SRC) at five upazila health complexes, 27 Union Health and Family Welfare Centres, 15 USC and 110 Community Clinics under Bagmara, Charghat and Tanore upazilas in Rajshahi and Porsha and Sapahar in Naogaon.

The project is intended to improve the health status of the targeted population with a special focus on maternal, neonatal and child health at primary healthcare centres. PHIIR Manager Tozammel Haque said they have 126 CVs in the project-covering area and Sharmin Khatun is highly dedicated to her work.

She always tried to give her best for the people after the best uses of her knowledge acquired from time-to-time training on midwifery. Her role towards reducing child marriage in the communities is also undeniable.

Khatun conducted 60 health education sessions with participation of around 800 mothers so far besides holding courtyard meetings with pregnant mothers in different houses every month encouraging them to avail ANC, delivery, PNC and neonatal services routinely.

With this breakthrough, village mothers are seen getting pregnancy related services in due time contributing a lot towards reducing home delivery side by side with decreasing the rate of maternal and child mortality and morbidity.