RAWALPINDI, Nov 16: The district health department and provincial population welfare department have launched a joint programme for upgradation of reproductive health services in the district.

District Health Officer Dr Shoaib Khan, talking to this reporter on Tuesday, said: "We are working jointly to maximize the utilization of resources available with the two departments and to avoid the overlapping of services."

The two departments have already taken some steps in this direction and are moving forward to take this programme down to the grassroots level for making it a greater success. At present, they are targeting the tehsil level and brainstorming is underway to exploit areas for greater cooperation.

Under the programme, lady health workers (LHWs) of the health department will try to convince the prospective couples for the contraceptive surgery of women. They will also educate men about vasectomy, thus promoting this male contraceptive procedure that is very rare in the country.

The population welfare department will then hold about 12 camps throughout the district in a month where contraceptive surgery is done. Here, the two departments have also divided their roles. The surgical procedures are performed by the staff of the population welfare department, which also provides the instruments, whereas the operation theatres of the health department are brought under use.

A proposal has been moved by the health department asking the population welfare department to arrange transport for the couples who have been operated upon.

Likewise, the two departments are working on a proposal to jointly market this programme and to make collective efforts for the gathering of indicator data concerning reproductive health services in the project area. Currently, data collection task is being done by both departments separately.

Another prospective area of cooperation between the two departments is the joint utilization of manpower and infrastructure.

Dr Khan, giving an example of this proposed cooperation, said there were certain places where population welfare department had lady health visitors but did not have a building of their own.