Better training for midwives sought
Speakers at a workshop yesterday recommended more training for midwives to make them competent in providing maternity and reproductive healthcare to women.
They urged doctors, non-government organisations and private sector representatives to work hand-in-hand with the government to improve reproductive, maternal and newborn health (RMNH) services for the poor and vulnerable people.
The workshop, “National Needs Assessment of RMNH Workforce”, was organised by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in collaboration with UNFPA and Research Training and Management (RTM) International in the capital's Cirdap Auditorium.
The workshop's aim was to share the findings of an RTM International research carried out with the technical assistance of UNAIDS, UNFPA, Unicef, World Bank, WHO and the Instituto de Cooperación Social Integrare.
The research was a national assessment on reproductive, maternal and newborn health workforce in Bangladesh.
The workshop also aimed to consult on the options, strategies and technical details required for projection of reproductive, maternal and newborn healthcare and the population's healthcare needs in the short-to-medium term.
Health consultant of Instituto de Cooperación Social Integrare, Rupa Chilvers, presented the findings at the workshop. Some 60 representatives from the government, NGO, private and development sectors provided their recommendations.
The ministry will present the findings at an international meeting in New York in September. The meeting was being organised to report on country progress on their commitments to the United Nations Secretary General's Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health.
The result will also be disseminated at FIGO World Congress of Gynecology and Obstetrics in October 2012.
As a part of the Global Strategy's launching in September 2010, the Bangladesh government committed to doubling the percentage of births attended by skilled health workers by 2015.
The government promised to increase the number of skilled health workers by training an additional 3,000 midwives, staffing 427 sub-district health centres to provide round-the-clock midwifery services and upgrading 59 district hospitals and 70 “Mother and Child Welfare Centres”.
Chairing the workshop, the ministry Secretary Mohammad Humayun Kabir hoped to see similar commitment from development partners not only for studies and assessments but also for increasing the healthcare workforce through private and public sector participation.
The ministry Joint Secretary Ashadul Islam, UNFPA Representative Arther Erken and RTM International President Ahmed-al-Kabir also spoke at the workshop.
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