Four training workshops with a special focus on the care of newborns and their mothers have been organised for journalists under Pakistan Initiative for Mothers and Newborns (Paiman) programme.

This training was part of the five-year project Paiman, launched by the government in collaboration with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to raise public awareness and help improve health care standards for mothers and newborns in Pakistan.

The participants of the workshop were apprised about methods to improve their overall health reporting skills with a special focus on mothers and newborns. Some rewards were also announced for reporters who cover the topic most effectively.

Stipends and awards were also available for investigative reports to recognise the best coverage. The workshops with participation of print, radio or TV journalists were organised at Bhurban, Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, official sources said here Tuesday.

Funded by the USAID, Paiman works at national, provincial and district levels to strengthen the capacity of public and private health care providers and to improve health care system infrastructure.

Paiman has developed a community-based approach that provides care to mothers and newborns through supportive linkages from home health care to hospital-based care. The sources said by the end of the project, Paiman envisions a health system in the project area that delivers high quality Maternal and Newborn Health (MNH) services to women, children, and couples, and where all levels of health providers work closely with empowered, educated and organized communities. The Paiman will be implemented in 10 districts of all the four provinces of Pakistan which include: Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Dera Ghazi Khan, Khanewal, Sukkur, Dadu, Jaffarabad, Lasbella Upper Dir, Buner and the total population being covered under the programme is approximately 12.5 million