The Government of UP will encourage
non-government organizations to implement innovative reproductive
health programmes. Ability to mobilize and involve communities
in development programmes is the major strength of non-government
organizations. UP has several hundred non-government organizations.
By providing financial and material resources and capacity-building
opportunities to NGOs, community-based counselling and
service delivery can be expanded rapidly to underserved
rural areas and urban slums. The Society for Innovations
in Family Planning Services Agency (SIFPSA) has supported
several innovative NGO projects in the past five years
and many of these NGOs have made impressive contributions
to the RCH programme.
NGOs
not working in reproductive and child health programmes
will be encouraged and provided with the resources
to introduce RCH services in their programmes
NGOs
that have successfully implemented innovative projects
will be recognized and rewarded
NGOs
will be linked to public sector service delivery
systems to make the referral system more effective
and to improve the quality of services
The supply
system will be streamlined so that NGOs get an uninterrupted
supply of contraceptives
Regular
training programmes will be conducted and new strategies
will be evolved in partnership with NGOs to sustain
the activities of NGOs
Cooperatives
UP has 20,311 primary cooperative societies
with 22.48 million members spread over sectors as diverse
as agriculture, credit, handloom, dairy and sugarcane.
Being economic platforms, with organizational strengths
in rural areas and good understanding of rural markets,
these cooperatives offer an opportunity for involving
large networks of volunteers in the promotion of family
planning and RCH services.
Milk
cooperatives will be used for service delivery using
the model developed by SIFPSA. Their excellent logistics
would be utilized for promoting referrals
Primary
agriculture credit societies will be used as depots
for both free and subsidized brands of contraceptives
and as points for promoting RCH services
Organized Sector
Liberalization of the economy with a
human face requires corporate sector involvement in social
development. As part of SIFPSA facilitated initiatives,
individual industrial units and organized chambers of
commerce have started providing RCH services to employees
and their families and the community around them. These
efforts by the corporate sector will be further expanded
and strengthened.
Large
industrial units in both the private and public
sectors will be involved in the delivery of RCH
services. These industrial units have management
strengths and excellent captive hospital facilities
that could be used to provide clinical services
to the rural and urban communities
Networks
like railways and post offices with large rural
outreach and a strong hospital set-up would be utilized
for carrying messages on various RCH themes to remote
areas. Because of their influence and acceptability
in village communities, postmen will be trained
to promote the small family norm and disseminate
information
Chambers
of commerce and industry such as FICCI, PHD and
their affiliates would be requested to manage and
implement RCH projects for the unorganized sector
workers and small-scale industry workers
Indigenous System of Medical Practitioners
UP has nearly 40,000 registered indigenous
system of medical (ISM) practitioners belonging to the
Ayurvedic, Unani and Homeopathic schools of medicine.
There are perhaps an equal number of non-registered medical
practitioners. A large proportion of rural population
seeks health services from ISM practitioners because of
their easy access and low cost. The potential of ISM practitioners
to provide family planning services is immense.
ISM practitioners,
who are the first point of contact for health care
in rural areas, will be trained to provide counselling
and services related to family planning through
district level training projects.
They
would be promoted as trained family planning counsellors
and used as depots for free and priced oral contraceptives,
condoms and other reproductive health products.
Private Health Sector
Given the huge task of providing services
to a large number of eligible couples every year to reach
replacement-level fertility, the public health sector
alone will not be able to cater to the needs of all. Partnership
with the private sector is essential, particularly to
provide quality clinical services. In UP, the private
health sector is in its early stages of development. Government
will initiate steps to expand the private health sector
and also to utilize the facilities in existing health
institutions.
Private
health institutions, meeting quality standards to
provide sterilization and IUCD services, will be
identified in each district
Private
medical practitioners will be trained in providing
quality family planning services
Wide
publicity will be given to recognized institutions,
and people will be encouraged to utilize services
at these institutions
For private
recognized health institutions, further support
will be extended in the form of supply of equipment
and other resources
Contraceptive Marketing
Use of spacing methods in the state
is very low. Of the total number of currently married
women in reproductive age, only 6.4 percent use spacing
methods. A large proportion of users of spacing methods
depend on the private sector for fully priced or subsidized
products. The dependence on the commercial sector has
been gradually increasing. In 1992-93, 52 percent of oral
contraceptive users depended on the private sector. This
has increased to 74 percent in 1998-99. Similarly, more
than 80 percent of condoms users are dependent on the
commercial sector for supplies. Given this, contraceptive
marketing has to play a major role in promoting the use
of spacing methods, particularly condoms and oral contraceptives.
The contraceptive marketing project
launched three years ago to improve the sales of condoms
in small towns and Category A villages in 28 districts
of UP has achieved significant results. The new contraceptive
marketing project launched in April 2000 will cover 25
percent of the villages up to D category in rural UP over
the next three years. This will substantially increase
the access to and use of condoms and oral contraceptives
in rural UP.
Innovative
marketing approaches will be tried out to refine
marketing strategies and to sustain marketing efforts
NGOs,
cooperatives, and the organized sectors will be
encouraged to introduce the element of social marketing
in their projects
Linkages
will be established with trained ISM practitioners
to sell oral contraceptives and condoms
Marketing
of other products like ORS packets, disposable delivery
kits, vitamin A solution, and IFA tablets will be
encouraged
