ISLAMABAD, Sept 8 Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) has reached an agreement with the health ministry's National Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health Programme (MNCH) to provide training and financial support to the community midwives (CMWs) in Chitral district.

A Letter of Understanding (LoU) signing ceremony was held at the Federal Ministry of Health here on Tuesday.

The Aga Khan Foundation will also facilitate the district government to renovate, furnish and equip the Community Midwifery School in the district and facilitate its accreditation with the Pakistan Nursing Council (PNC).

According to the agreement, the AKF will also support CMWs to establish 30 midwifery homes after successful completion of training at their respective union council; whereas the government will take over the responsibility of providing them with technical, logistic and financial support and benefits.The LoU was signed by MNCH National Programme Manager Dr Zahid Larik and AKF Programme Manager Health Dr Qayyum Noorani in the presence of Ministry of Health Joint Secretary (Planning and Development) Dr Azam Saleem.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Saleem said CMWs could play an important role in decreasing maternal and infant mortality rate at the grass-roots level. Innovative approaches are needed to enhance community participation in immunisation campaigns, he added.

Dr Saleem appreciated the efforts of Aga Khan Development Network agencies for establishing effective models of community and public partnerships in remote regions to improve health conditions.

Dr Noorani said through this public-private partnership initiative, AKF in collaboration with the District MNCH programme and Aga Khan Health Service would train 30 CMWs under the USAID-funded Chitral Child Survival Programme, to provide quality health care to the women of Chitral residing in remote villages during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum period.