Volunteer’s training Class at Godawari-10, Chapagaun.

Introduction:

Government of Nepal has initiated the Female Community Health Volunteer (FCHV) program in FY 2045/46 (1988/1989) for increasing the women participation in promoting health of the people starting from 27 districts and expanded to all 77 districts of the country gradually in phased manner. Initially, their approach was to select one FCHV per ward regardless of the population size. Later in 2050 (1993/94) population based approach was introduced in selected (28) districts. Alltogether there are 51,416 FCHVs (Data source: Government of Nepal, Ministry of Health and Population) in the country (46,088 FCHVs at rural/VDC level and 5,328 at urban/municipality level) currently.

FCHVs are selected by members of Mothers’ Group for Health (MG‐H) with the help of local health facility staff. They are provided 18 days basic training in two phases (9+9 days) on selected primary health care components. The major role of the FCHV is to advocate healthy behaviors of mothers and community people to promote safe motherhood, child health, family planning, and other community based health promotion and service delivery. FCHVs distribute contraceptives, ORS packets and vitamin A capsules, treat pneumonia cases and refer and serious cases to health institution along with motivation and education to community people. Similarly, they also act as linkage between the health facility and the community, provide referral services especially for maternal and new born services, distribute iron tablets to pregnant and lactating mothers, provide support in home delivery cases mainly focused on initiating skin to skin contact after birth, and provide health education, communication and community outreach services.

Our Objectives:

Each Rural Municipality or Municipality is supported with minimum fund by the Government every fiscal year for the allowances and training of the female health volunteers which is not sufficient to keep them motivated for their duties. Government has assigned some basic duties for these volunteers but they are not able to give their hundred percent due to the lack of proper trainings, allowances, equipments and moral support. Our primary objective is to make them more competent on what they are doing over the years as well as to provide them knowledge on broad aspects of community health. We wish to increase their efficiency to serve the community not only on the particular areas of community health specified by the government but also on other different existing health issues of the peoples and society. Generally, we want to use their knowledge and expertise and involve them to solve as much as health related issues of the needy peoples.

Our Training Programs:

We had organized 3 female healthcare volunteers training programs with the financial support of Dooley Intermed International at Godawari and Panauti Municipalities in 2018 and 2019.  

Our experienced trainer doctors provided them knowledge on different communicable and non communicable diseases, their prevention and cure, child and infant healthcare, pregnancy and safe motherhood, ophthalmic and eye care as well as to use basic medical equipment like Thermometer, Sphygmomanometer, Glucometer for the patient cure during the training classes. 

Around 70 volunteers received training through our different programs conducted at Godawari Municipality’s Ward Nos: 05 and 10 and Panauti Municipality’s Ward Nos 10, 11 & 12. Trainee volunteers were paid daily allowance and lunch facility was also provided to motivate them for participation in the program. We distributed certificate of completion and a kit bag including basic medical equipment as Blood Pressure device set, thermometer, torch lights, umbrellas to facilitate trainees during the field visit, upon the completion of the training.

Kit Bag distributed to Volunteers upon completion of training.

Our training programs have made them competent to identify different diseases, their prevention and cure, patient’s counseling, identify and solve child and infant related issues and to use few basic medical equipment. The training programs have become so successful that we are feeling immediate positive impact among the people of the villages where we have organized the programs. The forceful condition to visit hospital far from the village just to measure blood pressure, fever condition, counselling on child and infant’s nutrition and basic healthcare, and basic first aid treatment has been solved in the area of these volunteer participants where they work at. This is a huge achievement for us. Especially pregnant woman, elderly peoples and child/infants are benefited from the program.

Equipment distributed to Volunteers upon completion of training.

We are getting regular requests from other local governments to conduct volunteer training program, stating it as an exemplary and extraordinary program in the healthcare sector of Nepal. The volunteers we had trained earlier are also demanding for refresher as well as high level training programs. They are highly motivated to work and serve the people and are thankful to Dooley Intermed International and Mission Himalaya for bringing such a good program to their approach.