Brief Introduction
 Since 1983, Aga Khan University (AKU) through its department of Community Health Sciences (CHS) has provided technical support to squatter settlements of Karachi to solve health and socio-economic problems. Since 1996, Urban Health Project (UHP) presents an integrated model of primary health and social development in three squatter settlements of Karachi : Sultanabad, Hijrat Colony and Rehri Goth. These areas have a combined population of 85,000 distributed in 15,500 households. The project especially concentrates on improving the health status of women and children by providing preventive and curative services to the catchment population. Interventions like safe water supply, sanitation and education, income generation has also been considered in order to have continuous improvement in health and social development.
Objectives
 Develop the capacity in poor urban communities to support the health programme which is sustainable and which will accommodate specific interventions to address identified community health problems and needs in a manner which is affordable, sustainable and has measurable outcomes. - Contribute to the formulation of policy to improve the health of poor urban communities through research based projects designed to incorporate training and capacity building of health professionals.
- Provide teaching/learning opportunities for medical and nursing students to relate to communities, assess community problems and needs, and participate in planning and management process of these PHC systems.
Basic Demographic Information of UHP Field Sites
Sultanabad
Sultanabad is a very old squatter settlement of Karachi located in District West-Kemari Town, covering an area of 0.5 square km. Its total population is around 25,000 living in 4,000 partially leased households. Pushto and Hindko speaking communities are dominant conserving their traditional and cultural norms. 51 per cent of adult men and 74 per cent of women have no schooling and are illiterate. 13.6 per cent of the population comprises of children less than 5 years or age, where as 21 per cent of women are in CBA. Majority of men are involved in service related professions or are work on daily wages. Women also contribute in income generation of the family by small cottage work.
Hijrat Colony
Hijrat colony is developed by huge migrants from the North Frontier, situated in District South, Sadder Town having a population of about 27, 000 distributed in 4,500 partially leased households. 55.3 per cent of men and 75.6 per cent of women have no formal education. 15.4 per cent of the population comprises of children under age five and about 20 per cent of women belong to CBA. More than fifty per cent of the adult men are on daily wages; their other professions are transport and service related. Pushto is dominant community who is following their traditional Jirgah System for the resolution of inter-community issues.
Rehri Goth
Rehri Goth is a more than three hundred year old village situated in District Malir, Bin Qasim Town at the coastal margin of Arabian Sea covering an area of 1.3 sq. km. It has a population of 33,000 and 7,000 households. 98 per cent of the population is Sindhi speaking preserving their customary living style without accommodating fast changes going around them. Majority of women are housewives and men are fishermen. Women are also contributing to family income by piling prawns and sort out small fishes. 14 per cent of the population comprises of children under age five while 22 per cent of women are CBA. Literacy level is very low; only 10 per cent of males and 4 per cent of females attended formal schooling.
Health Component
Centre based activities
- Daily curative clinics with the help of Family Physicians, CMRs and MOs.
- Antenatal and post natal care.
- Preventive and curative approach for nutritional anaemia.
- Family planning services to ensure optimal child spacing.
- Immunisation coverage for children under two years of age on seven vaccine preventable diseases with support of EPI.
- Growth monitoring of children under age five through PEM clinic
- Enhance referrals
- Centre-based health talks
Out reach
- Health sessions for community women
- School health sessions for children
- Perform immunisation activities for distant areas
- Home visits to high risk cases
Linkages
- Strengthen working relationship with LHWs and TBAs
- Enhance linkages with GOs and NGOs working on similar objectives.
Development Component
Education
- Home schools with the support of Sindh Education Foundation (SEF)
- Fellowship schools at HC with the support of SEF
- Adult literacy schools for women
- Computer Literacy Centre
Income generation
- Micro credit scheme (SA), planning phase in HC
- Sewing centres
- Preparation of household items for income generation
Water and Sanitation
- Improve existing water and sanitation system with the support of local bodies and KWSB involving community representatives.
Community mobilisation and Capacity building
- Training and involvement of community representatives, volunteers and Female Support Group in ongoing health and development activities.
Process of community mobilisation
- Identification of key person
- Formation of community groups
- Need assessment and prioritisation of issues.
- Formation of CBO
- Capacity building of Community Health and Management Team (CHMT) members and community people.
- Continues efforts to improve quality of existing services.
Sustainability
- Capacity building of the community representatives and volunteers to sustain the ongoing activities on self reliance basis once AKU withdraws its services.
|
