‘Our youth make up 70% of the total population and there is a need to bridge the gap that they face in accessing reliable reproductive health information and services’, this was highlighted by Dr. Amanullah, CEO, Forum for Safe Motherhood (White Ribbon Alliance Pakistan Chapter) at a Consultative Session organized in Karachi on Wednesday, December 21, 2022.
The Consultative Session aimed at creating awareness about Aghaaz: Pakistan’s premium Pre-Marital/Marital Counselling Approach. Initiated by the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation & Coordination (MoNHSR&C) in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and Forum for Safe Motherhood, Aghaaz has been developed to provide young people who are about to get married or who are recently married complete access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information.
Dr. Haris Ahmed, Public Health Specialist when briefing participants about Aghaaz stressed that it aims to ensure that young people have a robust foundation for marriage. For this, it discusses several important areas, ranging from pre-marital screening to the how’s of fostering a healthy relationship with one’s life partner. In the process it touches on oft discussed subjects like number and spacing of children, pre & post-natal care, and household and money management.
The Consultative Session was directed at exploring how best Aghaaz, its Multi-touch Point Sensitization Approach, and especially the resource material and virtual tools (Web Portal www.aghaaz.com.pk and Mobile App) developed under it can best be integrated into relevant provincial structures and systems.
By and large, participants were of the opinion that Aghaaz has taken into consideration all aspects of consultation and communication including barriers, cultural sensitivities, and societal challenges with particular attention to the needs of young people who are going to be married, as well as those who are first-time parents. They highlighted several measures for adopting Aghaaz and ensuring its implementation at the provincial level.
Speaking at the occasion Mr. Raja Rasheed Ali of Secretary Social/Population Welfare, Govt of GB. said that, ‘Aghaaz is providing quality information on reproductive health and rights with the view of empowering young people to make the right choices at the right time’. Dr. Amanullah in his concluding remarks stressed that ‘Aghaaz envisages a Pakistan where all young people have the information and resources available that are required for a long, healthy, stable and satisfying marriage’.
The session was attended by senior officials from different departments of the Government of Sindh such as, Population Welfare, Health, RMNCH Program, LHW Program, PPHI as well as by senior representatives from different donors and NGOs/INGOs such as WHO, UNFPA, BMGF, FPAP, Greenstar, Hands, and the like.
