Goal: Enhancing leadership skills in Lady Health Workers.

The Lady Health Workers Programme was started by the late Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto who was the first prime Minister of Islamic World. She had the vision to create much-needed support for women in a society where violence against women and lack of recognition of women’s labor is rampant. Health is one of the very basic needs of all including the working class and poor in the urban and rural areas of Pakistan. Pakistan did not have a developed health care system for all and especially for women who were not allowed to go out of the four walls even to receive medical care. Benazir Bhutto has come up with this unique idea to provide basic health services to the people of Pakistan at their doorstep. She was aware of the fact that women are the last to be served in the household arrangement therefore, she has chosen women to serve women, this way she had created job opportunities for the women at the grassroots who are providing basic services regarding sexual and reproductive health rights, basic immunization, and other services related to primary health care to the families across Pakistan. Women are being served in this programme not only at the demand side but also at the supply side where they get a respectable livelihood.

Objectives

1. NOW Communities has focused on LHWs and designed a three-year program to continue its ongoing work with women workers using the principal, “nothing about me without me “ as it seems close to the philosophy of WVL.P. The late prime minister has developed this force to empower women to make decision about their fates and lives with the help of other women.

2. The program also provides economic empowerment and social inclusion to women, the program was designed and articulated with the gender lens keeping the need of the women in priority and at the highest level.

3. NOW Communities objective is to train 3000 lady health workers from Karachi, Hyderabad and Jacobabad in three years.

4. In the first year 1000 Lady Health workers from Karachi and Hyderabad will be beneficial directly 300 lady health worker will get the training and 700 will be trained by trained Lady Health workers.

MOU Signing Ceremony

November, 16 2020 National Organization for Working Communities (NOWC) under the OXFAM held a MOU signing ceremony between All Pakistan LHW’s Programme Union and NOWCommunities for the program Women Voice Leadership titled “Enhancement of Leadership skills of Lady Health Worker Trade Union ” on Monday at NOWCommunities office.

Ms.Mehnaz Rehman (Chairperson NOWCommunities), Ms.Farhat Parveen (executive Director NOWC), Ms.Bushra Arain (President of All LHW’s Programme Union), Ms.Farhat Sultana (Lady Health worker General Secretary) and Ms.Malka Khan (Aurat Foundation) joined the event.