By: Adeel Alvi
SHIKARPUR: As a result of poverty, backward areas, scarcity of balanced food, seasonal work at the areas, and the dearth of traveling facility, to reach Outpatient Therapist Center, are main concerns to increase the ratio of the cases of Severe Acute Malnutrition [SAM] and Moderate Acute Malnutrition [MAM], and to mitigate the cases, coordination and communication between the team, parents of child, and line departments are noteworthy and we could get better results through coordination and communication.
If you want to achieve your goal in this regard coordination and communication plays a strong role and without coordination, you would not reach up to the mark and no doubt it is a very tough job to communicate and harmonize mothers and their other family members mainly father, but with the grace of Almighty Allah we have strong communication level at grass route level with team members therefore the result of Shikarpur is significant and better in comparison to other districts.
The team working with Program for Improved Nutrition in Sindh funded by European Union [EU], in Shikarpur has made comprehensive mechanism to bring back defaulter kids to concerned Outpatient Therapist Center [OTPs] for treatment for the welfare of children.
In this regard, to bring back the defaulter and absentee kids, we contact parents through concerned Community Health Worker[CHW], and Community Health Supervisor[CHS], by contacting through mobile phone, if absentee or defaulter still not appear at OTPs we also use contact of influential persons of the area and also hold community meetings to communicate and harmonize mothers and their other family members to bring back SAM & MAM cases towards OTPs and left no stone unturned.
Besides, to make communication & coordination more strong and better the PINS team has also made WhatsApp groups to remain in contact 24/7 with the staff and in this connection the team has made WhatsApp group named 1. Absent & Defaulter Tracing, in which the PINS team discusses information with respect to defaulters, absentee information and tracing, problems and their solutions, and uncovered area, 2. PINS Shikarpur (MN&NA), where the team discusses nutrition weak, covered area information, 3. NSC-OTP Outreach Linkages, in this group team remains in close contact with Integrated Health Services [IHS], PPHI Staff regarding availability of beds at district level NSC, admission and discharge, identification of SAM child with complication, 4. DLG, District Liaising Group, where stack holders including PPHI, ACF and IHS remain in close contact with each other to cope with all issues facing in field activities, 5. DCCN group, this group has been formed for partners under the leadership of district administration and other line departments including PINS, HIS, AAP and RSPN partners to shares their activities.
Program for Improved Nutrition in Sindh working in Sindh with close collaboration with Accelerated Action Plan & Action Against Hunger funded by European Union [EU], with the full support of Sindh government mainly focusing to improve the nutritional status of under-five children and Pregnant and Lactating Women by addressing malnutrition through provision of effective nutritional services at the community and facility level that meet nationally and internationally recommended minimum standards of care for the population.