Plan International Bangladesh on Wednesday organised a Scorecard Findings Sharing event at the national level in the city's Crowne Plaza regarding adolescent friendly health services based on scorecard intervention.
The chief guest of the event was Dr Md Muniruzzaman Siddiqui, director (MCH-Services), DGFP, and the special guests were Dr Kazi Md Zobair Galib, LD (MCRAH), DGFP, Dr Jiinat Sultana, assistant director-MCH, DGFP Afroz Mahal, director-Programme Management & Implementation, Plan International Bangladesh was also present, reads a press release issued Wednesday.
Chief guest Dr Md Muniruzzaman Siddiqui, director (MCH- Services) DGFP mentioned, “Adolescents are now utilising our services, sharing their opinions, and providing us opportunities to improve.
“The key findings on adolescent-friendly health services based on the scorecard interventions are promising, especially considering the challenges of working in 26 different areas.”
From the key Findings, it has been highlighted that Community scorecards have been implemented in 26 Adolescent Friendly Health Service Centres (AFHSCs) and their catchment areas under 26 districts (13 Union Health and Family Welfare Centres, 12 Mother and Child Welfare Centres, and 1 Maternal and Child Health Training Institute) from January 2021 to enhance service quality and increase the accessibility of Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) services among adolescents at Adolescent Friendly Health Service Centres.
Afroz Mahal, director- Programme Management & Implementation, Plan International Bangladesh said, “we are deeply committed to working more extensively in Bangladesh, particularly with DGFP, as they are pivotal in tackling these issues.
“We also aim to expand our efforts and will discuss this further. Moreover, we want to share our experiences regarding scorecard intervention since 2021 and gather knowledge from all our representatives to create a better future together.”
The majority of the adolescent boys and girls expressed satisfaction with the behaviour of service providers at the Adolescent Friendly Health Service Centre. However, some isolated cases revealed contrasting experiences.
There were a few recommendations such as, establishing separate toilet facilities for boys and girls, pure drinking water, separate seating arrangements, providing more human resources in some areas, promotion of a volunteer program for local youth to create an adolescent-friendly environment at health centres, ensuring the availability of free or low-cost medicines for adolescents and youth, strengthening campaigns in secondary schools on SRHR services, as limited numbers of adolescent boys are availing SRH services.
With collective efforts and continued support, it is possible to make significant strides to improve our health services and ensure a healthy future for our adolescents.
