Health, Education and Literacy Programme Annual Report 2016-2017 Contents Mission Executive Committee Management General Body Members Sub committees Chairperson’s Message About HELP Our Donors Accountability and Transparency Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Our Projects Our Friends Financials / Audit Report Our Mission “Through needs assessment to design and implement replicable models of health promotion, health delivery and education for women and children” Executive Committee (Honorary) Prof. Dure Samin Akram Chairperson Associate Prof. S.K Kausar Vice President Prof. Dr. Fehmina Arif General Secretary Dr. Gulrukh Nency Joint Secretary Associate Prof. Dr. Neel Kanth Treasurer Members Ms. Mona Sheikh. Mr. Fareed Khan Ms. Hilda Saeed Ms. Rabia Agha Ms. Reema Jaffery Management Senior Program Manager Dr. Yasmeen Suleman Program Manager Dr. Amara Shakeel General Body members Dr. Fazila Zamindar Dr. Jaleel Siddiqui Dr. Sabin Adil Dr. Qadir Pathan Dr. Shakir Mustafa Ms. Shala Usmani Ms. Erum Ghazi Dr. Imtiaz Mandan Annual Report 2017 Sub committees Audit Committee Mr. Farid Khan Prof. Dr. Fehmina Arif Dr. Yasmeen Suleman Fund Raising Committee Ms. Reema Jaffery Dr. Fazila Zamindar Dr. Amara Shakeel Ms. Mona Shaikh Ms. Rabia Agha Research Committee Prof. Dure Samin Akram Associate Prof. Dr. Neel Kanth Associate Prof. S.K Kausar Prof. Dr. Fehmina Arif Purchasing and Procurement committee Prof. Fehmina Arif Dr. Yasmeen Suleman Associate Prof. Neel Kanth Editorial Board Dr. Yasmeen Suleman Ms. Hilda Saeed Annual Report 2017 Chairperson’s Message HELP has been blessed with many friends, well-wishers and philanthropic assistance. In return, we continue to push towards our Mission “to help those who help themselves”. This translates to empowering people in communities towards improving their living environment and standards of living. Two major projects are noteworthy to mention here. The first involves our efforts in Chachro Tharparkar. After Tharparkar went through severe drought 2 years ago, we planned not to give just short terms relief but empower the inhabitants of a village Charnore to be self -sufficient now and in the future. Read about this wonderful work in our report. The second noteworthy project we have been pursuing is in Karachi itself. Most of us do not appreciate the fact that urban slum dwellers face a double-edged sword. They are faced with poverty, lack of skills together with the loss of the support system which is available to rural families. In fact, health and nutrition indicators in urban slums are often times worse than those seen in rural communities. Therefore, HELP has concentrated on working in urban slums since 1991, with support from our German donor MISEREOR and other generous donors. We have successfully worked in a number of katchi-abadi’s. For instance, in Khuda ki Basti and surrounding areas in Gadap Town and part of Lower Gizri we have been working with the community for the past few years. The population in this area is empowered and aware of their own health nutrition and education needs. Resources, such as schools and government health facilities are also available. After doing a KAP survey in these 2 areas, we were satisfied with the knowledge and practices of the community regarding their health and education for their children. We therefore now plan to move ahead, to new areas, to empower more communities. This year we have started work in Bin Qasim Town and in small villages which surround Khuda ki Basti. This is work is in progress. We will be sharing details of the process and progress in reaching out to those communities, as we engage and work with them. Stay with us, we need the continued support of our well-wishers, volunteers and guides. Annual Report 2017 About HELP HELP is a non-Government, non-profit Community Based Primary Health care and Education Programme. It was established in 1990 and is registered with the Government Department of Social Welfare SSWD since 1991. Since Feb 2009, HELP is certified by Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy (PCP). HELP’s team comprises of highly committed professionals committed to the development of primary health care. These include expert master trainers serving in highly reputable medical institutions, experts partnering with UNICEF, WHO, National BFHI & IYCF programs on nutrition related issues, chartered accountants, journalists and social scientists. HELP is also a member of Nutrition Working Group as well as the Infant Feeding Board in Sindh and Punjab HELP is also a member of South Asian Infant Feeding Network. The organization’s focus is on the health care of women of child bearing age and children, with special emphasis on nutrition, immunization, reproductive health, and family planning. HELP is also involved in pre-primary education of children, early child development and adult literacy. HELP has a network of Community Health Workers (CHWs) in its communities. These workers are trained on primary health care and deliver the same to the community at their doorsteps. Special emphasis is given on their training as well of other medical and paramedical staff on infant and young child feeding. Separate workshops are held on breast feeding. Nutrition counseling is provided through mother support groups, during home visits by the CHWs and at the MCH centres. Presently there are > 500 mother support groups in its communities. Growth monitoring and promotion of nutrition in children <5 years has been its focus. Mothers are encouraged to practice Exclusive breast feeding till 6 months and continuation of breast feeding till 2 years. HELP’s Nutrition Resource Centre has been involved with Government & UNICEF in providing Infant and Young Child Nutrition trainings in province of Sindh. It has also developed training material on Maternal, Infant and Young child feeding and has conducted trainings of government and non-government health care personnel on establishment of Stabilizing centers, MIYCF and counseling technique. Annual Report 2017 Accountability and Transparency HELP has a centralized financial management system being operated through finance section of the organization. Financial transactions at HELP are carried out through a separate bank account dedicated for each project. Each bank account is operated by minimum two signatories. To ensure transparency and excellence in financial reporting internal audit has been sourced out to Haroon Zakaria and Company, Chartered Accountants. The team from the audit company carries out regular quarterly internal audits of all our sections independently and submits its report to the Board. The internal audit committee of the organization consists of two members from the Board and one member from the management. One of the Board members is a senior FCA. External audit is performed annually by Ernst and Young Ford Rhodes Sidat Hyder, Chartered Accountants. HELP is also regularly evaluated and certified by Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy (PCP) since 2009. Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Each Project Manager is responsible for implementing the project as per work plan. The Project Managers submit regular reports to the Senior Program Manager. Monitoring is done by an independent monitoring and evaluation (M&E) officer. The M&E officer submits his report directly to the HELP’s Board. Regular internal monitoring is also performed by a team from HELP’s management from its Head office. The outcomes of both internal and external monitoring visits are documented. Appropriate and timely actions are taken in response to reports of monitoring. Annual Report 2017 Our Donors Mrs. Shahina Islam Annual Report 2017 Our Projects Health . UN Maternal and Child Nutrition Stunting Reduction Program, District Naushahro Feroz . Effective Management of Malnourished Children Using Electronic and Mobile Phone Technology . Community- based Primary Health Care Project, Neelum Colony and Lower Gizri, Saddar Town, and Khuda Ki Basti, Gadap Town, Karachi . HELP Maternal and Child Health Centre, Lower Gizri, Saddar Town Karachi . HELP Maternal and Child Health Centre, Neelam Colony, Saddar Town, Karachi . HELP Maternal & Child Health Centre, Khuda Ki Basti, Gadap Town Karachi. HELP Nutrition Resource Centre for training & research. Education . Pre-Primary School, Lower Gizri Saddar, Town Karachi . Pre-Primary School, Neelum Colony, Saddar, Town Karachi . Pre Primary School, Ghaggar bin Qasim Town, Karachi . Home Schools in Ghaggar, Bin Qasim Town Research . Exploring Opportunities to Strengthen Supportive Supervision of EPI services in Sindh’ . Research on Infant and young child feeding (IYCF) policies Annual Report 2017 ‘UN Maternal and Child Nutrition Stunting Program Sindh’ Pakistan suffers from some of the highest rates of malnutrition in the world with a National stunting prevalence of 43.7% among children under five. In 1994, the prevalence of stunting was 36.3% whilst it increased to 43.4% across Pakistan and 49.8% in Sindh by 2011. Chronic malnutrition or stunting is associated with suboptimal brain development, which is likely to have long-lasting harmful consequences on cognitive ability, school performance and future earnings. This, in turn, affects the developmental potential of nations. To prevent stunting in children, HELP with support from UNICEF and USAID is implementing ‘UN Maternal and Child Nutrition Stunting Program’ in District Naushahro Feroz. The program commenced in July 2016. The focus of the program is on changing knowledge, attitude and practices of the community particularly the mothers and