Female community health volunteers (FCHV) play a crucial role ensuring the health and well-being of women and communities in Nepal. They are recruited locally, trained on basic primary health care, and serve as frontline pillars of community-based health programs in Nepal. Through engaging FCHVs, sexual, reproductive, maternal, and child health (SRMCH) in communities in the remote and mountainous Kalikot District of Nepal.
Sarita* is a thirty-eight-year-old FCHV participating in INF Nepal’s “Improving reproductive health and preventing child marriage” project. Sarita has served as an FCHV in Kalikot for 16 years. She has made significant contributions to the community-based health program in the district and plays a vital role in providing health education and basic services to the community.
Sarita participated in a training on, sexual, reproductive, maternal, and child health (SRMCH), gender equality and child marriage offered by INF Nepal. Since receiving the training, she actively shares this knowledge when leading Mothers’ Group Meetings and when counselling women during home visits.
Sarita shares, “Programs run by INF Nepal like SRMCH training, awareness raising programs… and the mobilization of Mothers’ Groups… have a significant contribution to improving the community awareness of sexual and reproductive health services and improves access to such services by the women and adolescent girls.”
In collaboration with INF Nepal, Sarita conducts Mothers’ Group Meetings and home visits, She supports pregnant women and mothers of young children with essential health knowledge and practices, ensuring better outcomes during the critical “golden 1,000 days” (from conception to two years of age). Her work extends beyond group settings to home visits, where she ensures pregnant women receive proper nutrition, rest, and antenatal care. She also educates women on proper prenatal nutrition, encourages them to access antenatal, postnatal and delivery services in a health facility, raises awareness of the consequences of child marriage and early childbearing, and distributes family planning supplies to couples, bridging the gap between government health services and the community.
The impact of FCHVs like Sarita was highlighted by Anjana*, a 22-year-old new mother who remarked,
“Sarita has been a guide for countless ladies. She encourages all new mothers to attend the Mothers’ Group Meeting regularly, so they benefit from the program. She ensures that pregnant women undergo antenatal care checkups according to protocol, advises on precautions during pregnancy and ensures timely vaccination for children. Moreover, she has been an active campaigner in preventing child marriage in our locality.”
Sarita’s efforts, supported by INF Nepal’s programs, have significantly reduced child marriage and gender-based violence in her locality. She highlights the importance of INF’s initiatives, saying, “Programs like SRMCH training, awareness sessions, child club and mother group mobilization, and the establishment of birthing centers in collaboration with the government have greatly improved community awareness and access to sexual and reproductive health services for women and adolescent girls.”
Sarita is a dedicated volunteer who has made a significant contribution to facilitating open discussions about child marriage and improving the health of mothers and children in her community. Her training on SRMCH, gender equality, and child marriage has strengthened her knowledge and skills, enabling her to make a greater impact on the health and well-being of women and girls in her community. INF Nepal continues to work with dedicated FCHVs like Sarita to strengthen sexual, reproductive, maternal, and child health in Kalikot District, Nepal.
Story By
Mahesh Sanjyal, Team Leader & Padma Hitan, Project Officer
Read our recent story here: Click here to read