Training midwives

By Saleem Shaikh

April 3, 2011

Daily Dawn (Education)

Sakina, a resident of Gulshan-i-Hadid in Bin Qasim Town, is still grieving the loss of an aunt who died a few months back due to a traditional birth attendant’s (TBA) mishandling of her case.

Knowing the fate of her aunt, Sakina, 18, wondered if all the women in her family would have to face the same risk to their lives at the hands of untrained TBAs. She also knew some women, whose pregnancies were handled by the TBAs, who either died as a result of mishandling of their deliveries or developed complications at later stages.

Opportunity knocked at her door when she came across a lady doctor in her neighbourhood, who handled pregnancies in a professional manner. It was through her that she found out about there being an institute of nursing and midwifery in nearby Jamkanda where young girls were imparted professional training in midwifery.

That is how Sakina joined the institute herself in the hope of being able to serve the women in her area who could not really afford to visit private hospitals for delivery purposes.

Handling of pregnancies by TBAs is a common phenomenon in Pakistan, particularly in the rural areas inhabited by over 67 per cent of the population. Figures taken from Pakistan’s Ministry of Health show an estimated five million women here becoming pregnant every year, most of them being in the rural areas. Over 75 per cent of the deliveries in rural areas take place in homes with the help of TBAs, who charge a meagre amount ranging between Rs500 to Rs1,000. But they are all not properly trained and around 62 per cent of these deliveries are conducted by unqualified TBAs.

Reports from the ministry also conclude that there are three women succumbing to maternal problems every hour. Also an estimated 30 babies die in the first month of their lives every hour. So in order to reduce the deaths, health experts have recommended the promotion of midwifery education in every single village of the country. The introduction of training courses help produce trained birth attendees to replace the TBAs.

Health experts suggest that the government introduce such training programmes at the community level for those who want to make a career out of midwifery.

“There is a strong need to set up community midwifery training schools in the rural areas of the country in order to prepare women as competent community midwives with sound knowledge, skills, understanding and desirable attitudes to provide health services (antenatal, postnatal, safe home deliveries and neonatal care) to reduce maternal and infant deaths in their respective villages,” said general manager of the Health Promotion Programme Dr Khalid Pervez.

The Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) in collaboration with Health and Nutrition Development Society (Hands) have set up model community midwifery training schools in districts of Sanghar, Hyderabad, Matiari, Badin and Thatta and Bin Qasim Town. Hundreds of young girls have been trained free of cost at these schools, and they in turn are providing proper and safe health services to the women in their areas in exchange for nominal charges.

“We have appointed qualified lady doctors and trained paramedical staffs, who impart intensive training to young girls in midwifery. We have also learnt that these young midwives are being welcomed in their areas and have replaced TBAs. This is an encouraging and positive change for us,” said Ghulam Hussain Baloch, general secretary of Hands.

Providing details of the training process and materials adopted at these training schools, Baloch said that the modules for midwifery have been developed in consultation with prominent health educationists and experts. Being comprehensive they cover all facets of training for community midwives in theory and practice.

“Audio visual aids, charts, models, overhead projector (OHP) films, handouts, etc., are also used for training for antenatal checkups. Besides, additional knowledge is also provided by resource persons in different topics such as communication skills, social mobilisation, health education, referral system, MIS maintenance, essential medicine, neonatal care and record keeping,” he said.

Meanwhile, a public health department official in Bin Qasim Town provided the information that the intensity of deaths during pregnancies has significantly decreased in areas where these midwifery training schools have been established.

The writer is a development journalist and WaterAid Media fellow.
saleemzeal@gmail.com

Weblink: http://www.dawn.com/2011/04/03/training-midwives-2.html

Sunflower output to fall by 5pc

By Saleem Shaikh

March 31, 2011

Daily Dawn (Business)

KARACHI, March 30: The sunflower production in Sindh will drop by 5.2 per cent because the sowing has decreased by 4.07 per cent against the target.

According to statistics of the Sindh Agriculture department the sunflower sowing was 10,956 hectares below the target until March 20. A total of around 258,274 hectares could be brought under cultivation against the target of 269,230 hectares.

The sunflower production has been projected to be down by 18,123 million tons to 331,877 million as against target of 350,000 million tons for the year 2010.

The sunflower sowing in the province begins in October and concludes on Feb 15, in lower Sindh. The sowing continued till first week of March in Tando Muhammad Khan, Tando Allahyar, Matiari, Mirpurkhas and Sanghar districts.

The picking will begin from April 1. Badin and Thatta districts are major sunflower growing areas, which together account for more than 55 per cent of the output.

The farmers pointed out that late maturity of paddy in lower and central Sindh districts is the main cause of 5.18 per cent shortfall in sunflower sowing, which is cultivated on residual moister of paddy crop and thus paddy harvesting is critical for its timely sowing.

Sowing in these areas started in December instead of October 2010, because, paddy fields were not cleared due to harvesting, which continued till late November, Amin Memon, chairman Small Farmers Association said.

Meanwhile, Additional Secretary Agriculture Ashfaq Soomro said that although sunflower sowing and production targets for the year 2010 could not be achieved, the crop posted increase of 16.89 per cent in area under cultivation and 28.04 per cent in output as compared to last year.

Weblink: http://www.dawn.com/2011/03/31/sunflower-output-to-fall-by-5pc.html

Cattle in Sindh hit by viral diseases

By Saleem Shaikh

Daily Dawn

March 14, 2011

THE outbreak of viral diseases among livestock in Tharparkar, Umerkot, Sanghar and Naushero Feroze districts is assuming serious proportions because of lack of prompt remedial measures by the concerned provincial department.

According to cattle farmers, large number goats, sheep, cows, buffaloes and camels have been hit by viral diseases in central and lower districts of Sindh.

Livestock executive district officers confirmed that they have received reports of Peste des petits ruminants (PPR) disease in goats and sheep, Haloragis in camels and foot and mouth disease among other animals.

“Reports of rising death toll of animals have been received from various areas of Tharparkar, Umerkot, Achro Thar (White Thar) in Sanghar and Naushero Feroz districts. Besides, adjoining districts are also said to be at risk, if officials concerned do not quickly respond to the situation,” said Bachal, a cattle farmer in Samoo Rind village of Umerkot.

“In Nagarparkar in Tharparkar district, scores of animals have been killed during the last three months,” said Santosh Kumar, a veterinary doctor in the town.

He told this scribe that some 10 weeks ago camels started contracting mouth disease in different parts of Tharparkar and Umerkot districts. “Once these animals fall prey to such diseases, they stop eating as their mouth bleeds and they die in three to four days,” Kumar explained.

Deputy Director Livestock Dr Rasheed Nizamani said that according to the livestock census 2006 there are around 6.925 million cattle heads in Sindh, nearly 60 per cent (4.155 million) of them in Tharparkar district alone.

The livestock of the province is growing at an average rate of 2.3 to 2.7 per cent annually following increased investment in the livestock sector, claims Dr Ghulam Sarwar Shaikh, director general Sindh Livestock.

Karimdad Rahimo of Haji Adam Ji Dhani village in Sanghar district recalls: “In January this year the livestock heads, particularly the young and newborn ones, started suffering from diarrhoea, sheep pox, pneumonia and other diseases and on an average five to eight cattle heads died every day.”

The village people said that their cattle was also affected by sore mouth suffered from bluetongue and diarrhea. These diseases caused their animals to bleed, suffer abdominal pain and resulted in their death within three to four days.

However, no vaccination by livestock department officials had been carried out in their area so far, some of them complained.

Situation in other parts of east-southern districts is not different either, where cattle death toll is rising.

Villagers of the Achhro Thar told this scribe over phone that about 133 goats, 1,121 sheep, 23 cows and 29 camels had died during the last three months in Sobharo, Janhaar, Thoorahoo, Maankor and adjoining villages.

“Most of the areas in Tharparkar and Umerkot, Sanghar and Naushero Feroz are without any or proper veterinary facilities.

Their absence results economic miseries of livestock breeders, who are compelled to transport their livestock to private veterinary facilities in Thatta, Badin and Hyderabad for treatment. In some cases, private vets are also called in from these areas to visit the disease-hit villages who charge the livestock owners heavily,” said Ali Akbar Rahimo, an Umerkot-based cattle farming expert.

“My 53 goats and kids suffered from diarrhoea, sore mouth and bluetongue diseases and a few of them died two weeks back. The infected goats bleed from mouth, remain lazy and do not eat or drink anything and after getting weaker die in one or two days,” said Ali Jalal of Samo Rind village in Umerkot district.

Mehar Ali Samoo of Kasboo area in Nagarparkar said he had lost 25 goats so far to the bluetongue viral disease. However, getting no help from taluka livestock officials, I had to take my cattle to private veterinary hospital in Badin, where I was charged Rs900 per visit. In addition, I had to spend about Rs4,300 for transporting the cattle and buying medicines.

The livestock officials in the districts said they lacked funds and required facilities to fight the diseases which prevented them from visiting the affected areas.

Umerkot EDO( agriculture and livestock) Ghulamullah Jarwar said he had dispatched some teams to the affected areas to study the problem, diagnose them and vaccinate the infected animals accordingly.

“The outbreak of the disease is a common phenomenon after rains in Thar region, which was controllable after vaccination,” he said.

He, however, hoped the problem would be brought under control soon by launching vaccination drive in the affected areas.

Livestock officials in Umerkot, Sangahr and Naushero Feroz districts attributed inadequate funds and lack of transport facilities as major constraints in delivery of their services to viral-hit cattle farmers.

“We have written to the provincial government to provide vet diagnosis kits, medicines, vaccinations and funds to strengthen the laboratories in different districts, particularly in Tharparkar, Umerkot and Badin districts to overcome the livestock diseases and save them from death, said Dr. Rashid Nizamani.

Weblink: www.dawn.com/2011/03/.../cattle-in-sindh-hit-by-viral-diseases.html

Virus hits 40pc mango orchards in Sind

By Saleem Shaikh

March 06, 2011

Daily Dawn

KARACHI, March 5: Mango orchards on thousands of acres in Sindh have come under different viral disease attack.

The growers said that a large mango growing area has already been cleared to prevent the spread of disease. The situation is reported to be more serious in Hyderabad, Tando Allahyar, Shaheed Benazirabad, Matiari, Naushero Feroz, Sangarh and Umerkot districts.

Officials in the Plant Protection wing of the Sindh agriculture department confirmed reports of viral attack. At present, more than 40 per cent orchards are infected. They feared significant losses to the mango production this year.

Growers have complained that the official did not offer any help to fight the virus on their mango orchards.

“I have visited the office of EDO agriculture Matiari several times to seek their help to control the problem and save other nearby orchards, but the response was very poor,” said Nabi Khan Samejo, a prominent mango grower.

“No estimates about the total damage to the crop are available but it has become a limiting factor in many mango-growing areas,” said a senior official in the agriculture department`s extension wing.

Sindh Chamber of Agriculture (SCA) said that because of frequent viral attacks province`s overall mango output and its share in export would decline significantly.

Mango is cultivated in the province on around 56,000 hectares, with annual production of some 390,000 tons, according to provincial agriculture department`s statistics.

“But, mango crop this year is likely to post 30-40 per cent fall in the production due to the disease,” said mango growers.

They said it was intriguing that pest or viral attacks on mango orchards were more frequent in the province but there was no testing laboratory, where the mango growers could get help for overcoming the disease.

Mango grower Naveed Rahimo in Naushero Feroz said there was only one testing laboratory in Lahore, but it is very difficult to send samples of virus or disease-hit mango trees there and get the problem diagnosed.

Muhammad Afzal Arain, director Nuclear Institute for Agriculture, Tando Jam said two plant pathology laboratories have been established at the institute, where samples of the affected mango trees are being tested.

Former director Agriculture Research Institute in Tando Jam, Dr Abdul Sattar Buriro said that since the mango orchards were given on contracts to private investors, reports of viral attacks have become more frequent.

They do not invest in proper care of the orchards, he lamented.

He urged the farmers to avoid contracting their mango orchards and properly look after their gardens by ensuring proper irrigation and balanced nutrients.

Weblink: http://www.dawn.com/2011/03/06/virus-hits-40pc-mango-orchards-in-sindh.html

Govt urged to set up wheat buying centres

By Saleem Shaikh

Daily Dawn

KARACHI, Feb 28: Wheat harvesting has started in lower Sindh districts but the government has not yet set up procurement centres.

According to the information gathered from the growers the harvesting began from February 15, in Umerkot, Badin, Mirpurkhas and some parts of Sanghar districts. The harvesting in central Sindh is also picking up.

The province is likely to have bumper wheat crop, but the key challenge for the provincial food department would be to procure the grain on time.

The delay in procurement hurts small farmers as they are compelled to sell their produce to the middlemen and the traders at a price below the official support price, said Amin Memon, chairman Lower Sindh Growers Association.

Sindh Chamber of Agriculture official Nabi Bux said that no efforts had been made by the food department to arrange gunny bags and setting up wheat picking centres in the lower Sindh.

Secretary Agriculture Agha Jan Akhtar said that wheat sowing in the province would touch 11,00,000 hectares against a target of 10,31,000 hectares and it is hoped that the wheat output would also surpass the target.

“We are expecting some 3.8 million tons of wheat production against a target of 3.682 million tons”, he said. “Fruits of bumper wheat output may go down the drain if provincial food department failed to set up wheat buying centres immediately”, he warned.

A spokesman of the food department Muneer Jalbani claimed that efforts had been made to purchase polypropylene (PP) and gunny bags and procurement centres would be set up in wheat growing districts before March 15.

He said that 1.3 million tons of wheat procurement target has been set for the food department for 2011 Rabi season, which would be achieved before June.

He said that a tender was floated on January 29, for buying 10 million PP bags (50kg each), which would be distributed among the wheat growers by April 1.

However, some officials in the food department hardly see any possibility of the wheat procurement centres to become operational before April 1.

“The buying centres are established only after the Sindh government issues orders. But, so far no orders have been made to the food department”, they argued.

Mr Jalbani, however, insisted that the food department was determined to make 350 procurement centres operational by March 15, in lower Sindh and by April 1, in upper Sindh districts.

Weblink: http://www.dawn.com/2011/03/01/govt-urged-to-set-up-wheat-buying-centres.html