Chairman and vice-chairman of the Simkot Rural Municipality, in Humla, have been reaching out to new mothers of the villages with nutritional and cleaning materials since July this year.
The rural municipality has formulated a special programme and these materials have been provided as a support to improve the nutrition and hygiene of the new mothers and newborn babies.
Sarada Bohara, a new mother from Thehe village of Simkot Rural Municipality-2, was happy to receive nutritional materials from the ward chair and vice-chair on the day she gave birth to her baby. She said that it was a great relief to get such nutritional supplies after the childbirth. The nutritional materials were distributed to other ten new mothers who gave birth in Health post of Thehe.
Nar Bhandari, the head of health section of the Simkot Rural Municipality, said that the new mothers of all the wards of the rural municipality have been supported with nutrition and hygiene items. He said that these materials have been used to improve the nutrition and hygiene of the new mothers. The health section of the rural municipality has formulated a special programme ‘Village chairman brings gifts, nutritional bag for pregnant and new mothers’.
Chairman Bhandari said that this programme was decided and implemented as most of the pregnant and new mothers were suffering due to the lack of nutritious food and sanitation.
The distribution of nutritional goods was started from Thehe village and now the women who have given birth in all the wards will be supported with them. So far, there are 50 pregnant women in all the wards of Simkot Rural Municipality and 38 of them have given birth. It does not include the number of women who gave birth in the district hospital under the Health Service Office. He said that women with permanent address in Simkot Rural Municipality who give birth in the maternity ward of the hospital will also be supported with these materials.
The items supported for nutrition and hygiene includes 1-kg ghee, 5-kg marsi rice, 2-litre edible oil, 1-crate eggs; and for cleaning, 5 soaps for washing clothes, 1 brush, 1-piece nail cutter, towel and 2 underwear and a bag. In the same way, a greenhouse tent was also provided to pregnant women to grow green vegetables.
Bijay Bhandari, chairman of the rural municipality, said that this programme has been started from this year for women who have given birth under the Maternal Protection Programme and would be continued from now on.
Stating that it is necessary to give priority not only to physical development but also to whole human development, Bhandari said that Rs. 1,400,000 has been allocated for the programme.
Source : TRN,
