45 percent maternity related problems resolved in Jawzjan

SHIBERGHAN (Pajhwok): The Jawanan Andishmand Social Association of Jawzjan in Shiberghan city, capital of northern Jawzjan province, on Tuesday said 45 percent maternity related problems in the province had been addressed.

The event titled “Social Assessment Findings” was sponsored by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The Provincial Integrity Network was established with the technical support of volunteer groups from the Integrity Watch Afghanistan to strengthen good governance in Jawzjan province, with the Jawanan Andishmand Social Association of Jawzjan (JASAJ) playing an executive role in the program.

The association launched a public health survey in Jawzjan province in March this year. The survey was suspended before July due to conflicts in the province, but it was resumed after the situation improved.

Seyyed Massoud Hosseini, Deputy of the association, told the press conference that the association had evaluated various dimensions of the maternity section of Jawzjan Department of Public Health during the survey.

He said that 45 percent of problems which previously existed in the area had been resolved.

According to him, forty-five percent of the problems that existed in the past in this sector have been solved.

He said maternity patients were no longer asked for money as gift by midwives and personnel of maternity wards while a proper place has also been provided for patient attendants.

Late payment of salaries of maternity personnel was another problem shared with the officials concerned and has been resolved, he said.

Study of the association in social areas with a number of volunteers and civil society activists as well as media outlets in the province still continues, he said.

SeyedRasoul Sadat, head of Shiberghan Trust Network, which is a member of the association, said that the association played the role of a volunteer in the survey and they could not impose anything on officials as they had no any executive roles.

However, he said, “We would launch advocacy programs in response to the existing investigations to get the expected results.”

Zahra Saeedi, a supervisor for healthcare centers in Shiberghan Trust Network, said that if they obtained the desired results from the investigation in the public health area, they would launch evaluations in other departments of the province.

“We are committed to expanding our work so that these efforts can have a positive impact on governance in the province,” she added.

Saeedi called on people to help their institute in eliminating administrative corruption in the province.

Khal Mohammad, an observer of a local health center in Eid Mahalla village and a resident of the village, wrote in a report to the association, “At this clinic located in Eid Mahalla village of Jawzjan, patients have long been complaining about its personnel, we are also witness to these problems. The clinic personnel demand money as gift from patients and their attendants, they are demanding for up to 4,000 afghanis and people are also paying it.”

He said that the mentioned problem and other issues in the clinic were solved after the association showed its activity in the area. A number of local people also signed at the end of the report.

December 9 is International Anti-Corruption Day. The fight against corruption is now considered a global phenomenon. While corruption affects every country, documents show that people suffering from poverty suffer the most from graft.

mds/ma

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