July 29, 2003	Tuesday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 28, 1424

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HANGU, July 28: Family welfare centres set up by the population welfare department in different areas of Hangu district are facing acute shortage of staff and equipment.

The population welfare department has established seven centres in the district to create awareness among people about family planning. However, these centres have failed to serve the purpose as all of them are without required staff.

These family welfare centres were set up in Hangu town, Ibrahimzai, Toghsrai, Mohammad Khwaja, Doaba, Darsamand and Thall.

Only two female workers have been appointed to these centres — one each in Doaba and Thall — while the rest of the centres have no female staff and their posts are lying vacant.

Similarly, four male staffers are working as family welfare assistant in four centres, including Ibrahimzai, Hangu, Toghsrai and Darsamand, while the posts are lying vacant in other centres. Some of the centres do not even have midwives or traditional birth attendants.

Sources said an average of 10 to 12 birth control operations were carried out in all the seven centres in a month.

They said the population welfare department, which had approved opening of a district office in Hangu, had failed to appoint trained staff to these centres. Some of the centres are even without watchmen to look after the buildings.

The sources said the shortage of staff and lack of incentives to the workers and the people were responsible for the failure of the family planning awareness drive in the district.