Programme
Comprehensive Health and Education Forum International
-
-
© CHEF
In the schoolyard of Agra primary school: Reconstruction and renovation is organised by CHEF
- Private non-profit and non-governmental organisation
- Preventive, curative and rehabilitation services
- Human resource development for mid-level personnel in rehabilitation
- Advocay for inclusion on national/provincial level
The Comprehensive Health and Education Forum International is a Pakistani non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Peshawar, Pakistan. The NGO is dedicated to human resource development of personnel in the CBM mandate areas physical, mental, hearing and visual impairment. Another major objective is advocating and lobbying for the rights and needs of people with disabilities.
The NGO aims to be a national forum for disability and functions as an umbrella organisation to combine resources of different sectors in health and education. Comprehensive service provision, human resource development, cross-disability research programmes to influence policy making as well as education and vocational training are areas of intervention.
Areas of work
The development of two new model programmes in cross-disability is a focus. These programmes will be in line with national plans for hearing impairment, physical impairment and mental health.
In physical rehabilitation, the focus is on human resource development of paramedical personnel combined with service provision. A CBM orthopaedic advisor has built up an orthopaedic workshop in close cooperation with the government. The workshop aims at building capacity of technical and programme staff and giving advice on national planning.
The hearing impairment component is benefiting from a close cooperation with the CBM partner Holy Land Institute for the Deaf in Jordan. In February 2010 a national task force on hearing launched the initiative 'Audio 2020' and CHEF as one of the major stakeholders is implementing partner.
To strengthen comprehensive eye care in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a cataract and human resource development programme comprising four CBM partners started in 2008. A Corneal bank (Murad Eye Bank) and an IOL bank are located in Peshawar and function as resource centres for CBM partners and other stakeholders. A range of Community Vision Centres provide refractive service, low vision devices and referral to the secondary level.
Cooperation with government institutions
On the national level the creation of new structures and national policies/plans in all mandate areas is planned over the next years. National plans for hearing impairment and physical impairment have been developed and are in the process of being implemented..
Emergency relief
-
©CHEF
-
Women also participate in the 'cash for work' programme enabling them to contribute to the family income. Work progress is monitored by CHEF.
CHEF is highly qualified in emergency relief work since the earthquake 2005. The partner runs two re-built secondary hospitals Battagram and Bessian.
As a result of the military conflicts in the Swat valley in summer 2009 about 3,5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) flew southwards to Maradan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and were hosted in camps and rural villages where service infrastructure had totally broken down as a consequence. In the early emergency phase and later the rehabilitation phase CHEF supported the refugees with general primary health care services in Takhtbai and since then reached about 650 patients weekly.
When the floods hit Pakistan in summer 2010, CHEF immediately formed a emergency response unit and started to work in Charsadda, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a very badly hit area at the confluence of rivers Swat and Kabul, 30 km north of Peshawar.
CHEF began distributing food and hygiene articles, assistive devices (crutches, wheelchairs, white canes), organising basic health care, installing hand pumps and water filter points, and distributing of wheelbarrows and other tools for clearing of rubble.
In the second phase – after the floods subsided – CHEF has put up health care units and dispensaries, supported a ‘cash for work’ initiative to support shelter construction, distributed goats as means of livelihood, and started accessible reconstruction/renovation of six schools in the district.
With the onset of winter, warm clothing was distributed to 20.000 persons identified as most needy.
In a third phase – after the most pressing needs of the population in Charsadda have been met – the following projects are planned:
- Comprehensive inclusive education programme (targeted 50 schools, renovation, teacher training)
- Long-term livelihood programme
- Implementation of mother and child health services’ (‘house of blessings’)
- Comprehensive Health Care
- Cross Disability Rehabilitation Centre
