Villagers get access to primary healthcare in Rajshahi

Remote villagers have got access to primary health care, including institutional delivery, maternal and neonatal ones, as a result of reactivating a union level healthcare facility in Tanore upazila of Rajshahi district.

Badhair Union Health and Family Welfare Center (UH&FWC) has been reactivated through mitigating the challenges taking the issue of its necessity into special consideration after around nine years of its non-functioning condition due to various problems.

The facility, around 18 kilometers away from the Tanore Upazila Health Complex, is assigned to provide primary healthcare services to around 18,668 people, including 9430 females.

“We have revitalized the rural level facility in collaboration with the department of health, the department of family planning and Public Health Improvement Initiative Rajshahi (PHIIR) project,” Ataur Rahman, chairman of Badhair union parishad, said, while talking to BSS on Thursday.

With this breakthrough, the facility has become a dependable place of various services related to normal delivery, antenatal care (ANC), postnatal care (PNC) and neonatal care to the grassroots people, particularly the marginalized and disadvantaged expectant mothers.

DASCOH Foundation has been implementing the PHIIR project with the financial support of Swiss Red Cross (SRC) at five upazila health complexes, 42 Union Health and Family Welfare Centres and 110 Community Clinics under Bagmara, Charghat and Tanore upazila in Rajshahi and Porsha and Sapahar in Naogaon.

The project is intended to improve the health status with special focus on maternal, neonatal, and child health at primary health care level.

UP Chairman Rahman Ataur Rahman said the facility remained inactive due to various adverse circumstances, including shortage of manpower, problematic electric and drinking water supply and unfriendly service, since 2012.

First of all, a skilled Family Welfare Visitor (FWV) was recruited couple of months back with financial sharing of PHIIR Project and Local Government Institution and requisite other support of the department of family planning to make the facility functional properly.

The facility has been made prepared for normal delivery and other ANC, PNC, and neonatal services through timely supplying of medicine, logistics and other technical support at present to meet up the local demands.

FWV Fateha Khatun told BSS that the local expectant mothers are seen coming to the centre for routine checkups and delivery. “I’m very much proud of providing the emergency services to the rural mothers,” she added.

“I am blessed with a healthy baby through normal delivery at the centre with the dedication of the FWV on July 30 last”, said Nayan Tara, 24, wife of Deb Dulal, a resident of a nearby village.

The couple, who are delighted over their newborn, said they had no capacity to bear the expenses of better services in the upazila and district-level facility.

Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer Dr Barnabus Hasdak visited the centre on July 28 and met the pregnant mother and motivated her to have delivery care.

Expressing his satisfaction over the performance of the facility, he said collaborative efforts from all the stakeholders were really outstanding in the rural level maternal services.