NATIONAL 5 (Spotlight Weekly)]

Strategic Plan

A leading non-governmental organization brings out a five-year plan focusing on reproductive health

By A CORRESPONDENT

Its time to reflect and re-orient its goal. The four-decade-old Family Planning Association of Nepal (FPAN), a pioneering non-governmental organization, is, hence, at the turning point.

Set up in 1959, six years before the government formally launched programs in the population sector, the FPAN currently offers serves in 800 Village Development Committees in 34 out of 75 districts in the country. The FPAN services constitute nearly 30 percent of the national program in this sector.

In the beginning, the FPAN primarily focused on delivering family planning services, both permanent and temporary, to married couples. "As the concept was quite new, we had to integrate our programs with development packages," recalls Hari Khanal, deputy director general at the FPAN.

As the government has expanded its health network through length and breadth of the country, the FPAN has focused on those areas where health services are still inaccessible. "We have mobilized nearly 12,000 volunteers all over the country to provide services in the deprived, rural areas," said Sunil K. Bhandary, Immediate Past President of the FPAN.

To meet the new challenges, the Association has brought out a five-year-long strategic plan (2001-2005). Making the plan public here on Monday, newly elected chairman of FPAN, Chhatra Giri, said the strategic plan includes programs to attract more people toward family planning services, increase womenís capacity in decision-making and fulfill the demand of reproductive health services of the youth, among others.

Out of an estimated budget of Rs 229 million for the year 2001, the Association has allocated 37 percent of its budget for family planning, 37 percent for youth related programs, 9 percent each for administration and gender related issues. Its parent organization, the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) is also one of the main donors to its activities by providing assistance worth Rs 98.9 million this year. The Association plans to mobilize internal resources worth Rs five million.

The Association provided temporary family planning services to nearly 300,000 people and permanent family planning services to nearly 6,800 people in the year 1999. Besides, it also provided maternal and child health services to nearly 662,000 people, pathological services to more than 54,000 people and treatment to sexually transmitted diseases to nearly 8,000 people in 1999.

"We are now adopting a holistic approach and trying to increase womenís participation at the policy level," said Subash Pradhan, general secretary of FPAN.

Besides services delivery, the FPAN has been involved in advocacy works in critical areas related to reproductive health. The Association had raised the issue of controlling immigration in the Panchayat days and had presented "Pregnancy Protection Bill" in the parliament to legalize abortion on health ground.

After the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo in 1994, the Association brought out its decade-long strategic plan identifying reproductive health as one of the fundamental rights of the human being. Similarly, after the International Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, the Association has been focusing on programs related to women and youth population.

NEPAL-BANGLADESH
Fruitful Visit

Nepal and Bangladesh may have more economic interaction in the days to come thanks to the recent understanding. Foreign Minister Chakra Prasad Bastola and his Bangladeshi counterpart, Abdus Samad Azad, have agreed to remove customs duties on vegetable, fruits and other primary items exported from Nepal to Bangladesh. Bangladesh has also agreed to provide another route to Nepal to reach the Mongla port. According to Nepali Ambassador to Bangladesh, Madhu Raman Acharya, this route is a shorter one than the existing Kakarbhitta-Fulbari-Banglabandh route. He said an agreement has also been reached with Bangladesh to construct a broad-gauge railway line to facilitate trade through the new route. During his three-day visit to Dhaka last week, Bastola discussed issues related to bilateral trade, transit and tourism with Bangladeshi officials. Upon his arrival from Dhaka, Bastola said, ěWe have agreed to develop Birjung - Rohanpur (India) - Sindhabd (Bangladesh) broad gauge railway line as new route to facilitate trade between the two countries.î He said both the countries shared common views on revitalization of SAARC. According to officials, Bangladesh has also agreed to allow private airlines from Nepal to fly to Dhaka. At present, only official airlines of Nepal and Bangladesh fly between the two countries.