5000 flood-hit women in Bangladesh to get UNFPA reproductive health kits

UNFPA said it had handed over 110 such kits to the government which would be enough to ensure that 5000 women can deliver their babies under “safe conditions” in this critical time.

The monsoon-induced floods have affected as many as 2.7 million people in the five hardest hit regions in Bangladesh, including 715,000 girls and women of reproductive age.

An estimated 24,000 women are currently pregnant and in need of maternal and newborn care, as about 12,700 are due to deliver their babies in the next three months, requiring skilled birth attendants and medical supplies, UNFPA said.

Bangladesh Representative Argentina Matavel Piccin handed over the kits to Director General for Family Planning Mohammad Wahid Hossain on Wednesday.

Those kits, containing vital medical supplies and equipment, will be distributed to health centres in the most severely flood-affected communities.

UNFPA is also preparing the deployment of certified midwives to the hardest hit regions “once funding is secured”.

“We can strengthen the existing excellent work of the rapid response teams if we add midwives,” she said, adding that “UNFPA stands with the government in supporting national efforts in ensuring timely and quality response to disasters.”

The DG family planning thanked UNFPA for the kits and said they would “contribute to the government’s ongoing efforts to save the lives of mothers and children in the worst affected areas.”

UNFPA in June distributed dignity kits to the most vulnerable girls and women in the most affected areas of cyclone Roanu.
The kits include clothes, as well as essential hygiene supplies such as toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, soap and sanitary pads.

It also provided a flashlight and whistle in the kit to ensure additional safety to the girls and women against risks of violence.