Activities
1. TRAINING:
Workers from the community
are selected and trained with
comprehensive training modules
including issues of maternal,
newborn & child health care,
immunization schedules and
practices, control of ARI and
diarrhea diseases. LIFE has an
expertise in the development of
advocacy campaigns, which is
being implemented in the safe
injection policy, safe blood
transfusion practices and
tobacco control program.
2. IMMUNIZATION:
Special teams visit the
selected areas in addition to
static health centres for
support of immunization
services. Major emphasis is
placed to give routine
immunization under EPI program
so that population coverage
could be increased. National EPI
program is assisted during
National Immunization Days &
SNIDs for giving polio drops in
under five population of the
area.
3. MOTHER AND NEWBORN CARE
Mothers and newborns are most
vulnerable segments in Pakistani
society. Pakistan ranks 3rd to
4th in the world in terms of
maternal and newborn mortality
rates. Thus maximum focus is
given to this area through
induction of local staff from
the community of selected
districts, which after training,
play a pivotal role in referrals
thus integrating the community
with the public sector
facilities through this
Endeavour.
4. HEALTH CENTERS
LIFE is presently running
three health centres in the
earthquake his areas of Azad
Jammu & Kashmir in collaboration
with the local administration to
tehsil headquarter hospitals.
Through these centres, apart
from routine immunizations,
basic health facilities are
provided to the local
population.
5. NUTRITION
Advocacy campaigns are run
through media and seminars for
the fortification of food with
iron, iodine, vitamins A and
vitamin D. 6. VOCATIONAL
TRAINING
Vocational training and
community based rehabilitation
particularly of women through
training & provision of basic
requirement such as sewing
machine is carried out in the
community for the self sustained
development of society. This
program of basic Development
Need (BDN) is carried out with
the support of world Health
Organization. 7. INTERSHIP &
COLLABARATION
Life offers free internships
to undergraduate students of
various institution, through
which advocacy campaigns are run
thus creating awareness in
students & of course in the
community. The collaboration
with other nongovernmental
organization and international
agencies is carried out at
different forms for the uplift
of society. WAY FORWARD
LIFE intends to extend its
services to the rural areas of
Islamabad District, which has
population of around 500,000. In
spite of part of the capital
district, the health status of
rural population is at the
lowest ebb. The health indices
of maternal & newborn are very
poor; there is high prevalence
of infections like HBV & HCV.
The major causes are practices
of unsafe blood transfusion and
a high rate of prescribing
injections to the community.
LIFE intends to focus on three
areas in particular i.e. i).
Maternal & newborn health.
ii). Injection safety &
safe blood transfusion practices
and
iii). Augmentation of
routine immunization to children
and tetanus toxoid to pregnant
mother’s. LIFE will develop a
training facility with
comprehensive program of
training modules to different
levels of community health
workers. The approach of LIFE
will be target and results based
so that a visible improvement
may occur in the health of
surrounding rural population of
Islamabad in terms of maternal &
newborn health indices, and
practices of safe blood
transfusion & safe injection
policy. The training component
encompasses: a)
Training of local birth
attendants in the safe & clean
delivery
b) Antenatal counseling
about nutrition, breast feeding
and tetanus toxoid vaccination
c) Support of routine EPI
immunization to increase the
coverage to at least above 70%,
which currently around 50%
d) Emphasis on family
planning in collaboration with
other NGOs
e) An audit of giving injection
by all care providers including
physician and paramedics for
various aliments. The data from
Pakistan suggest that is an
urgent need to reduce the number
of injection per person per year
from 14 to at least 4 which is a
benchmark in the WHO EMRO
region. A comprehensive advocacy
campaign will be launched in the
rural areas of Islamabad so that
the menace of infection like HBV,
HCV & HIV and other
transmissible diseases through
unhealthy injection and blood
transfusion practices could be
controlled. |
