US pledges $1.5b for social sector uplift
Bureau Report

PESHAWAR—US Ambassador to Pakistan Ryan C. Crocker presented signed grant agreements to three local organizations here on Tuesday for improving healthcare facilities for mothers and children across Upper Dir and Buner districts of the NWFP.
According to a release of Office of Public Affairs US Embassy, the US Ambassador also inaugurated renovations of the Provincial Health Services Academy in Peshawar.
This month, 100 students from Upper Dir and Buner will enroll in an 18 month community midwife programe in Peshawar. The programme is developed and supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). In all, 200 community midwives from these districts will be trained through this effort, to provide skilled birthing services to their communities.
Work performed through the grant agreements presented by Ambassador Crocker will cover the rest of Bunner and Upper Dir. The organizations including Research and Awanress for Human Development Benefits and Rights (RAHBAR), Dir Rural Support Programme, and Young Blood Welfare Organization are working in the remote areas.
These local organizations will work through communities to educate families on how to best support wives and daughters-in-law during pregnancy. Families will also receive training and guidance on how to recognize and respond to pregnancy and newborn emergencies, steps that will go a long way to reducing deaths among mothers and newborns.