5. Health:

Man is born free but everywhere he is in chains. (B. Russell)

What compelled B. Russell make this statement. Is man born free in a society where 40% people are living below poverty line? How malnourished week and illiterate mother can give birth to a free child? A child exploited and frustrated in mothers womb and who is not secure at a time of birth, he may die or may take the life of his little mother (early married). Thus he becomes an unborn prosecutor. If he survives, lot of miseries will be waiting for him and with the laps of just one year he will find his dear brother/sister playing the same game with his beloved mother and this time she may face the fatal blow. At this stage death and life has become the same thing for his mother because this process will continue and each time she survives, she will have to feed more mouths which her empty breasts can not afford and be ready to see her children malnourished, starved and easy target of all kind of diseases. When his mother is a slave in brutal chain of social and economic barriers, how can she give birth to a free child?

SWWS first priority at the time of its inception (1990) was women�s health. The starting point was Women Reproductive Health. SWWS office is still known as Family Planning Center by locals.

5. 1 Community Based Distribution (CBD) population welfare pilot project:

In 1990 SWWS approached the Non Governmental Organization Coordination Council (NGOCC) for establishing health facilities. NGOCC and The Asia Foundation (TAF) introduced Family Planning Programme with other health-related components. After the initial set up, a survey was done to identify the project area having a population (target) of one Lac. This was successfully done and about 38 villages in 7 union councils of Swabi were identified for introducing CBD model. An extensive training with the help of NGOCC/PAVHNA was organized for field staff. After being fully satisfied with all pre-project activities, the full-fledged Programme was launched from December 1991.

After the completion of one year, and the successful results achieved encouraged us to extend the project activities to the adjoining areas. This led to increase in the number of Field workers from 22 to 29. The first activity under the project was couple registration. This helped in collecting the base line data for assessing the contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) of the area and the unmet need for family planning. Simultaneously it fulfilled the requirement of enlisting the MWRAs (married women in reproductive age) in the area, which was completed in the given time of two months. Enterprise development consultant (EDC) Islamabad carried out an evaluation of CBD project in May 1993 which showed an encouraging result. As a result CBD-1 was followed by CBD (II-III) in 1994 and was scheduled for completion in 1996. Another evaluation of CBD project was carried out by Mr. Mehboob Sultan ( NIPS) in 1996 which showed equally encouraging results. This resulted in CBD- IV and was scheduled for completion in June 1999. Presently SWWS through CBD project is benefiting more than 35000 MWRAs in a total population of 0.3 million. The main beneficiaries of the project are married women of reproductive age and children under 5.

5.2 Maternal and Child Health Care Centers:

AUSAID/NATPOW funded six MCH centers, which has been established for the back support of CBD workers. Lady health visitors of these centers are working under the supervision of qualified doctors. One MCH center in situated in SWWS office while the rest are in Dagi, Karnal Sher Killi 2, Sheikh jana , Kalu Khan, Turlandi, Hamza Dher. All the other MCH centers are run by the train staff formally attached to CBD project and women groups on self help basis.

NATPOW funding abruptly stopped in 1999, which badly affected our MCH centers, but we pledged to continue our efforts and to make these centers self sustained as there is a big unmet need for reproductive health/family planning services in rural areas of Swabi. Till now we are successful in that struggle. But we are still facing problems in organizing mobile medical camps at remote locations, which were held bimonthly basis. These camps used to cater to the demand for contraceptive and other health services.

On 19/10/2002 SWWS organized one-day mobile medical camp in Narangi, a remote area of District Swabi. About 98 patients were examined and they were provided with necessary medication.

 5.3 Promotion of Reproductive health in Swabi.

 SWWS with the support of SPO (Strengthen Participatory Organization) conducted a series of trainings to promote the Reproductive Health services in District Swabi. Six SWWS staff members got one week intensive training at RTI Peshawar as master trainers. Community orientations were held at Union council/village level to identify the potential trainees health activists and so far 104 community activists have been trained through 3 days workshops by the master trainers. These health activists are now organizing community health education sessions for women on regular basis. These trainings include the following themes.

A) Safe Motherhood.

� Antenatal/Postnatal care

B) Family Planning:                  

� FP Education, motivation

� Contraceptive Technology

� Referral

C) Child Health

� Breast feeding

� Child weaning

� Immunization

� Care during diarrhea and pneumonia