UNFPA, MoH to give more importance to birth spacing

MOH PLAN: World Population Day to be celebrated on July 11 -

KABEER YOUSUF -

MUSCAT, July 3  -

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), in association with the Ministry of Health (MoH), will highlight the need for birth spacing on the World Population Day 2017 which will be celebrated in Oman on July 11, according to the UNFPA office.

Themed ‘Birth Spacing — Empowering People, Developing Nations’, the day reminds stakeholders of the long call for adhering to the 2014 MoH plan to strengthen the BS Programme as a matter of supporting the child and mother health and exploring the barriers for service utilisation.

UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, sub-regional office for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries, in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO) Oman conducted a Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP) study on contraceptive use as continuing support to the Birth Spacing (BS) Programme of the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Oman.

“MoH carried out a study on birth spacing three years ago which implied the need to conduct KAP (Knowledge, Attitude and Practices) study to assess the awareness of local community about BS and related methods. The objectives of the study include identifying the Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Omanis about their contraceptive use as well as exploring the barriers for service utilisation. Therefore, the outcomes of this study, which is funded by UNFPA GCC and technically supported by WHO, shall be used as a base to develop an updated and effective future communication plan focusing on modern methods,” a UNFPA Oman source said.

The study came after a very successful track record of cooperation between UNFPA, WHO and the Family and Community Health Department of the MoH, including the Women Health Assessment study in 2011, the Birth Spacing Programme Joint Review in 2013 and the Pre-Conception Care Mission in 2014.

This one-month study, which was launched on the September 20, 2015, helped in building the capacity of MoH staff to conduct Qualitative Researches independently in future. The staff had an intensive training on interviewing skills as well as data analysis during the study.