6 Oct 2012

BANGLADESH / HEALTH WORKERS

UNICEF is training health care workers to tend to the needs of people in the isolated vast wetlands of Sunamganj district in North East Bangladesh. UNICEF

Posted at: October 6, 2012 12:02 am

Duration: 04:32

Available in: SD

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Full script

STORY: BANGLADESH / HEALTH WORKERS
TRT: 4.32
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: BENGALI / ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: JUNE 2012, SUNAMGANJ DISTRICT, BANGLADESH
 
SHOTLIST

1. Wide shot, ducks in wetlands, Sunamganj district, Bangladesh
2. Wide shot, woman walking by canal 
3. Wide shot, women in wetlands – where most land is under water
4. Med shot, man throwing net in water in the wetlands
5. Med shot, woman washing clothes by the river
6. Wide shot, fisherman in the wetlands during the rain
7. Close shot, low angle, health workers walking bare foot in village
8. Wide shot, community health workers walking to a home
9. Med shot, community health workers knock on door
10. SOUNDBITE (Bengali), Rita Rani Boidda, Community Health Facilitator: 
"I work as a community health facilitator in the MNCS project. In this area, I have ten community health promoters or health workers. They work in the field and I am their supervisor. I look after their work, their visits to the field and their counseling"
11. Med shot, cutaway, community health workers talking to old woman
12. Close shot, child suffering with pneumonia is given nebulizer
13. Med shot, woman with newborn baby who is unwell
14. Med shot, pregnant woman getting examined
15. SOUNDBITE (Bengali), Rita Rani Boidda, Community Health Facilitator: 
"There were many religious, conservative families who didn't allow women to step outside their homes during pregnancy. They didn't even allow them to go for regular medical check-ups at hospitals. The men thought women were too 'exposed' during the examination."
16. Med shot, cutaway , women and children in village
17. Various shots, cutaway, men in village
18. Wide shot, Rita Rani Boidda and Shupta Sharma, Health Promoters working under the Integrated Maternal, Neonatal and Child Survival Interventions, MNCS programme supported by UNICEF, walk in the village
19. Various shots, Rita Rani Boidda and Moni Das, Community Health workers under the Integrated Maternal, Neonatal and Child Survival Interventions (MNCS project), teach a pregnant woman and her family about proper neo-natal care during a household visit in Jagannathpur Upazila in Sunamganj 
20. Med shot, community health promoter in the MNCS project walks to a house, asks for someone at the door, woman along with baby walk out 
21. Various shots, Shupta Sharma and Rita Rani Boidda, Health Promoters working under the Integrated Maternal, Neonatal and Child Survival Interventions, (MNCS project), conduct a courtyard meeting in Bhabanipur village, Jagannathpur Upazila in Sunamganj . Shupta is talking to the village women about newborn care.
22. SOUNDBITE (Bengali) Rita Rani Boidda, Community Health Facilitator: 
"Due to the awareness created by us, people now take their children and pregnant wives to health facilities."
23. Close shot, syringes
24. Close shot, medicine for vaccinations
25. Close shot, doctor fills an injection with medicine
26. Med shot, doctor vaccinating baby, community health worker stands by
27. Med shot, doctor vaccinating child, women with children waiting at the back
28. Wide shot, pan left to right, community health workers bring women and children to the vaccination center
29. SOUNDBITE (Bengali) Sohel Mia, Farmer & Member of the Community Clinic Group:

"As a male, I think that women have equal rights to healthcare as we do. In my grandfather's time, they didn't allow women to leave the home. But now women are able to access health care in time.  And that's because MNCS workers have been going from door to door, giving advice."
30. Various shots, Cutaways, community health worker at a house, counseling on health and hygiene
31. Wide shot, community health workers walking out of a building
32. SOUNDBITE (Bengali), Rita Rani Boidda, Community Health Facilitator: 
"This is my neighborhood, my community. We are actually serving our mothers, our aunts and our sisters.  These are my people and they will benefit from it. That's why this work is so fulfilling." 
33. Wide shot, community health workers with umbrellas, walking away from camera into the fields

STORYLINE:

Framed by vast wetlands, Sunamganj district in North East Bangladesh has mesmerizing beauty, beauty that masks untold challenges
    
Three quarters of the land is under water every year during the rainy season

Leaving communities deprived and isolated

Community health workers like Rita are sometimes the only point of contact for families in need of medical assistance in this remote region.

SOUNDBITE (Bengali), Rita Rani Boidda, Community Health Facilitator: 
"I work as a community health facilitator in the MNCS project. In this area, I have ten community health promoters or health workers. They work in the field and I am their supervisor. I look after their work, their visits to the field and their counseling"

Even today, easily preventable diseases like pneumonia are amongst the biggest killers of children under five.

Until recently, most deliveries took place in homes without the assistance of a skilled birth attendant – putting the lives of mothers and children at risk

SOUNDBITE (Bengali), Rita Rani Boidda, Community Health Facilitator: 
"There were many religious, conservative families who didn't allow women to step outside their homes during pregnancy. They didn't even allow them to go for regular medical check-ups at hospitals. The men thought women were too 'exposed' during the examination."

For the last 3 years, Rita and her team of volunteers have been going door to door to increase awareness on maternal and child health issues

They've been trained by UNICEF and local not for profit organizations that saw a solution to the maternal and child deaths within their communities

The organizations found students, teachers, government workers and housewives who wanted to help

The project – called the Maternal Neonatal Child Survival Program or MNCS – has more than 600 volunteers today

They pay home visits and organize 'courtyard sessions' to promote information about maternal health and newborn care

SOUNDBITE (Bengali) Rita Rani Boidda, Community Health Facilitator: 
"Due to the awareness created by us, people now take their children and pregnant wives to health facilities."

Since the MNCS program started in 2009, maternal and child mortality rates have been reduced significantly in the Sunamganj district

80 percent of the children are now fully immunized before they turn one

Building a link between hospitals, health centers and families, community health workers have turned the tide against maternal and child deaths

And perhaps their biggest success lies in breaking barriers in an extremely conservative society

SOUNDBITE (Bengali) Sohel Mia, Farmer & Member of the Community Clinic Group: 
"As a male, I think that women have equal rights to healthcare as we do. In my grandfather's time, they didn't allow women to leave the home. But now women are able to access health care in time.  And that's because MNCS workers have been going from door to door, giving advice."

Today, Bangladesh has made significant strides in empowering communities

It's a classic success story that's being written by the people themselves

SOUNDBITE (Bengali), Rita Rani Boidda, Community Health Facilitator: 
"This is my neighborhood, my community. We are actually serving our mothers, our aunts and our sisters.  These are my people and they will benefit from it. That's why this work is so fulfilling."

Filed under BANGLADESH UNICEF - United Nations Children's Fund.