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PM for public, private efforts to reduce maternal, child mortality

UNB, Dhaka
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday stressed the need for coordinated public and private efforts as well as participation of all in a bid to bring down maternal and child mortality rate in the country to the desired level.
"Sincerity of health service providers is very much needed to improve the standards of mother and child health, and overall improvement of the public health services. Active participation of ordinary people and their awareness are needed at all these levels,” she said.
The premier was addressing a function marking the Safe Motherhood Day 2012 and the prize distribution on 'prosuti seba’ (maternity service) at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the capital.
Hasina said the role of a mother was pivotal in building a healthy nation and her government was very much sincere about ensuring safe motherhood and also pledge-bound to ensure quality healthcare for all.
She mentioned that the present government had increased the maternal leave to six months from the existing four months. “It will be possible to build an enriched nation only when each and every family has a conscious,
healthy and educated mother,” she said.
She urged themembersofa family to ensure nutritious food as well as proper rest and care for the mothers during their period of maternity.
She said her government was working earnestly to achieve the desired goal in maternal and child health.
Hasina said the government was pledgebound to fulfill all basic rights of the people including food, clothes, shelter, health, and education so that every citizen of the country could become self-reliant.
She said her government was implementing public and private community based 'Skilled Birth Attendant Training Programme' to ensure safe delivery at home and to identify and send the women with complicated pregnancy to hospital.
In this context, she said so far 6,659 people were trained under the Skilled Birth Attendant Training Programme.
The premier said her government had started to impart training to midwives to ensure safe delivery.
A three-year midwifery course will begin from July next, she said, adding that a total of 180 nurses have already been imparted train-
ing to run the course.
Apart from the government efforts, she mentioned that various non-government organisations including Unicef, UNFPA, World Health Organisation (WHO) and JICA are jointly implementing different programmes on mother and child health in the country.
Hasina said emergency services were being provided to mothers, who gave birth to children at all medical college hospitals, 59 district hospitals, 132 upazila health complexes, 70 mother and child welfare centres and union health centres across the country.
Mentioning that her government has already established some specialised hospitals in different districts, she said a 500-bed hospital would be launched soon at Khilgaon in the capital. The government recently established a 500-bed hospital in Kurmitola.
The premier said Maternal Health Voucher Scheme was introduced and lactating mother allowance was being given to ensure healthcare services to marginally poor mothers during their pregnancy and child birth and after the child birth.
She listed various measures of the government in the health sector including running of over 11,000 community clinics in the rural
areas, increasing beds in government hospitals, providing internet connections and web camera up to upazila level hospital for 24-hour specialised healthcare service, health service through mobile phones, recruitment of physicians, nurses, and healthcare providers, and bringing the entire healthcare system under digital network.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr AFM Ruhal Haque, PM's Health Adviser Dr Syed Modasser Ali, State Minister for Health Mujibur Rahman Fakir spoke as special guests at the function, organised by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Health and Family Welfare Secretary Humayun Kabir presided.
Director General of Department of Health Dr Khandaker Mohammad Shefaetullah gave the address of welcome while director general of Family Planning Department AKM Amir Hossain also spoke at the function.
Earlier, the Prime Minister distributed prizes among representatives of 10 organizations for their outstanding contributions in providing healthcare services to ensure safe motherhood. A total of 42 organizations in seven categories had been declared as winners of the prize.