Hasnain Sabih Nayak
Independent University, Bangladesh
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: Primary Health Care
Bangladesh has made a great progress in reducing infant and maternal mortality rates as part of the MDGs. Yet every year there are significant numbers of maternal and neonatal deaths. Thus, introduction of midwifery services seemed imperative. A 3-year midwifery diploma was started by Government of Bangladesh, supported by WHO and UNFPA in public/government sector and by BRAC University (BRACU) with UK Aid funding from UK government in non-government sector. In Coxâ??s Bazar more than 90% women give birth at home, less than half of them attended by skilled healthcare workers. As one of the seven partner sites of BRACU in the â??Community-based Midwifery Diploma Programâ??, HOPE Foundation for Women and Children of Bangladesh, based in Coxâ??s Bazar, started training Bangladeshâ??s first class of 30 midwives in 2013. All the students selected for this program are local to Coxâ??s Bazar, with the intent that these girls will remain local upon graduation to meet the high needs of maternal care in the remote areas. Despite some challenges, 29 graduated from the first cohort and obtained professional certificates to be able to practice individually on their own. Institutional job opportunities work as pull factors for migration of the midwives to the bigger cities. However, forced displacement of Rohingya population to Coxâ??s Bazar from Myanmar, with a huge number of pregnant women, resulting in a higher need/demand for the midwives, acts as a counter pull-factor for repatriation or re-migration for the midwives to get back to Coxâ??s Bazar.
E-mail: hasnain_toi@yahoo.com
