Kick-off Meeting for Co-creating and Co-designing Implementation Plan of High-Quality Maternal Health Services and Pregnancy Cohort Study
A kick-off meeting was held on March 28, 2023 titled ‘Delivering High-Quality Maternal Health Services based on Global and National Standards in an Upazila Health Complex in Bangladesh’ and ‘Advancing the Understanding of Pregnancy-related Diseases, Conditions, and Complications among First-time Pregnant Women in Rural Bangladesh: A Prospective Cohort Study for Assessing the Burden and Determinants’, took place at the Maternal Health Conference Room, EPI Bhaban, Mohakhali, Dhaka.
The objectives and implementation plan of the study were presented by Dr Hassan Rushekh Mahmood, and Md. Mehedi Hasan, Senior Research Investigator, icddr,b.
The meeting was chaired by Dr. Md. Azizul Alim, Programme Manager, Directorate General of Health Services. Dr Sumaiya Yakub, Deputy Programme Manager (Monitoring), and Dr Md. Moazzem Hossain Sarker, Deputy Program Manager (DSF), Maternal Health, DGHS was present at the meeting while Dr Nuzhat Nadia, Deputy Program Manager (EOC), Maternal Health, DGHS virtually joined the forum.
During the discussion session, Dr Alim admired both initiatives for their potential to improve maternal health services in Bangladesh. He highlighted the initiative should be innovative and sustainable and expressed his interest in creating a pool of consultants to provide constant services at UHCs, and strengthening referral linkage. Discussants were enthusiastic about visiting Baliakandi UHC to understand the gap and requirements to provide quality services. Dr Rahman requested the sharing of government interests and priority indicators, which icddr,b could support in assessing. Dr Sarker emphasized the importance of improving the quality of antenatal care services (ANC) and facility deliveries. Dr Yakub highlighted the significance of assessing the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of healthcare providers in providing quality services in Upazila health complexes (UHCs).
