Preachers trained in health education in Marib

Twenty-two religious preachers and guides participated in a training session, which began Sunday morning in the city of Marib, to raise awareness of maternal and child health in general, and the concept and the importance of reproductive health in particular.  This comes within the framework of the existing cooperation between Basic Health Services Project, one of the health projects of the United States Agency for International Development and the Guidance Sector at Ministry of Endowments and Guidance.

The training, which will continue for five days, includes trainees from all districts of the governorate of Marib, including guidance managers in the districts and two participants from the Office of Health in the governorate. The session will be implemented through discussions and lectures and preparing messages for the public to discuss and put together future action plans, and share the experiences and views of the participants. “The course aims to improve the knowledge of the religious preachers in the field of reproductive health and maternal and child health,” said Dr. Ahmad al-Salahi, Technical Specialist with BHS.

“It also aims to mix the health awareness in the experiences and practices of guides to become part of the preachers’ regular activity. It also aims at the delivery of messages that raise awareness and improve the health behavior of the population, and promote the concepts of self-health attention, and promotes the status of women, and to focus on the importance of women’s role in the development of society, especially in the area of health,” he said.

Meanwhile, Al-Moradi Ali al-Faqir, Director of the Direction and Guidance Office in Marib said that the training would be working to find coordination between health service providers and religious leaders to urge the community to take advantage of health services and health education activities. “My office is seeking to remove the speakers from political rhetoric and concern them with matters that affect people’s lives and issues,” he said.

Thirty-four percent of maternal deaths are due to chronic bleeding, 20 percent are due to bacterial infections, and 15 percent are due to pregnancy toxemia. Health care providers in Marib are working to extend the coverage of health care to rural areas and convince more pregnant women to seek medical care. The training course is the second in the five governorates where the project works.

Two weeks ago, there was a similar course in the governorate of Amran.  The project had trained instructors in this field in the governorates of Amran, Sa’ada, al-Jawf, Shabwa and in Sana’a, and completed training in a field study visit to the Arab Republic of Egypt, to identify the role of field workers and religious preachers in the health field.

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