Latest news with #ReproductiveHealth
Zawya
2 days ago
- Health
- Zawya
Mobile clinics enhance access to health care services in Niger
In Niger, West Africa's largest country by land surface, access to health care services is a major challenge. Just one in two people has access to health services. One of the ways to bridge the gap is through mobile clinics in remote areas and deploying medical teams from health districts to villages. Among the main beneficiaries of the initiative are pregnant women. They are now able to receive emergency assistance and care for timely detection of any complications. Mariama, 42, who suffered complications after a fall, is grateful to have received care thanks to a mobile clinic. Ordinarily, she would have had to travel for a whole day to the nearest district health facility in Dosso town from her home in the southwest of Niger. 'As I was preparing to make the trip, I was informed of a mobile clinic in our area, and I went there the very next day. The team midwife consulted me and discovered that I had premature rupture of membranes,' she recounts. Under the initiative 'mobile clinic teams visit villages that are hard to reach for health care in general and reproductive health services for women and children in particular,' says Nafissatou Salifou Panga, midwife and Reproductive Health Focal Point for Dosso health district. 'It is a huge relief that pregnant women are able to benefit from care that detects risks in time and provides them with appropriate care.' Thanks to the care and follow-up she received, Mariama gave birth safely. Like Mariama, 267 pregnant women in Dosso and Filingué districts benefited from mobile clinic consultations in 2024. In all, almost 28 000 people were consulted and 3767 women received reproductive health services. Around 16 000 women were sensitized by community outreach teams on reproductive, maternal and neonatal health in the two districts. In Mariama's case, the community health teams shared awareness messages that enabled her to be informed in time of the arrival of the mobile clinic. By reaching populations far from health centres, the mobile clinic initiative also helps to improve health coverage at district and national levels. For example, the maternal mortality ratio fell from 441 per 100 000 live births in 2017 to 350 in 2023, according to World Bank data. Dr Aissatou Laouali, in charge of the reproductive health programme with World Health Organization (WHO) in Niger, says the initiative helping to accelerate efforts towards health for all. 'For vulnerable populations, rapid access to quality health care is vital. Through these initiatives, we hope to move forward in solving the challenges particularly faced by mothers and children living in remote areas." To ensure service quality, the district, in collaboration with WHO, organizes planning meetings and field supervision trips and supports the Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene in improving maternal and child health, in particular by providing technical guidelines, standards and protocols for reproductive, maternal and child health. Other support includes training health workers and improving the facilities in mother-and-child health centres, regional and district hospitals, and integrated health centres. WHO also supports training of health providers to ensure quality of care and health surveillance to curb maternal mortality. Niger has maintained the mobile clinics introduced earlier. In 2024, with support from WHO and donor financing, operational and medical equipment and supply needs of the mobile clinics were catered for. Additionally, 56 health workers and community outreach officers were trained in reproductive health in Dosso and Filingué districts. 'I was very satisfied with the care provided … I encourage the women in my community to come to the mobile clinic for any health problem,' says Mariama. 'If I hadn't gone to the centre after the incident, I would have had an infection with the risk of losing my baby." Distributed by APO Group on behalf of WHO Regional Office for Africa.
Malay Mail
13-06-2025
- Health
- Malay Mail
Education Ministry to ramp up sex ed in schools by 2027 to curb harassment, online predators
KUALA LUMPUR, June 13 — The teaching time for the Reproductive and Social Health Education Guidelines (PEERS) module will be increased in the implementation of the 2027 School Curriculum. Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek said the module, which was launched in November last year, among other things, aims to increase reproductive health awareness among the community, especially students, teachers and parents. 'All MOE (Ministry of Education) educational institutions are requested to comply with the guidelines to address the issue of sexual harassment. Psychosocial support services also need to be further strengthened to provide support to students,' she said in a statement today. Fadhlina said MOE takes seriously media reports on the existence of paedophile pages on social media featuring school students and urged that such pages be reported immediately. 'The existence of social media pages that display pornographic and immoral content needs to be curbed,' she said. At the same time, she also urged parents to play a proactive role at home by educating and protecting children from the threat of sexual harassment. 'They are also responsible in ensuring that the dignity of children is preserved,' she said. — Bernama
CBC
13-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Yukon group wins $1M Arctic Inspiration Prize for Indigenous midwifery centre
A project focused on Indigenous midwifery and reproductive health care in the Yukon is the big winner of this year's $1-million Arctic Inspiration Prize, with the money set to go toward building a new facility in Whitehorse. It's one of several projects from across the North that were named as Arctic Inspiration Prize winners at a gala ceremony in Ottawa on Tuesday afternoon. The finalists were announced last month. Apart from the $1-million grand prize, other projects will get anywhere from $100,000 to $500,000 in funding. The Arctic Inspiration Prize awards millions of dollars each year to projects in education, health, culture, arts, language, science, traditional knowledge, climate change and the economy. A total of $3.7 million was awarded this year. The largest prize will go toward a project led by the Council of Yukon First Nations called Bibia Nàtsät Ku. It would open a house in Whitehorse where Yukon First Nations elders and midwives could offer sexual and reproductive health care, including birthing services. It would also offer training for Indigenous students. Charlene Charlie, a member of the Bibia Nàtsät Ku team said in a statement on Tuesday that the prize represents a "turning point." "It means we can begin building a house of care that honours our ways of knowing, our languages, and our futures," she said. "This will not only transform sexual and reproductive health care delivery in the Yukon, but will also influence systemic change across the Arctic — helping to shape safer, more culturally appropriate care for Indigenous communities throughout the North." Other prize winners announced on Tuesday include: $500,000 for a Nunavut-based, Inuit-led education program for neurodiverse and marginalized youth by the Pirurqatigiit Resource Centre. $500,000 for a mentorship and leadership program for elders in Nunavut's Kitikmeot region. $233,000 for a nutrition and education program in Baker Lake, Nunavut, aimed at combating Type 2 diabetes rates. $500,000 for Cheko, a Yellowknife-based project to empower youth through land-based learning, mentorship, and entrepreneurship skills. $425,000 for a project led by the Qimutjuit Men's Association in Nunavik to address food insecurity and strengthen cultural practices through harvesting camps. Six winners were also announced in the youth category, with each project receiving $100,000 except one, a traditional beading and sewing program in Nunavut, which will receive $90,000. The $100,000 prize winners in the youth category are: A documentary about a youth dog sledding club in the Beaufort Delta region. The Dehcho Youth Energy Action Council, which draws on Dene knowledge to find climate solutions. A pan-northern youth gathering to find solutions for issues related to mental health, education and environment. The Northern Laughter Movement, which uses humour and storytelling as tools for wellness and leadership. A documentary project about the impacts of climate change on traditional hunting practices among Gwich'in in the Peel watershed region.
