LHW Punjab and ICT Report - Oxford Policy Management

EVALUATING THE LADY HEALTH WORKER PROGRAMMECHARACTERISTICS OF THE LADY HEALTH WORKER AND HERSUPERVISORThe Programme has specific recruitment criteria for Lady Health Workers and theirSupervisors. It is important for Programme credibility and reputation as a professional servicethat these criteria, once determined, are adhered to. 4Age and Marital Status: LHWs should be between twenty and fifty years old,though if married eighteen and nineteen-year-olds are acceptable. Punjabi and ICT LHWsmet these criteria. The majority of Punjabi and ICT Lady Health Workers, sixty-threepercent, are currently married as preferred by the programme. The Supervisors, bothnationally and in Punjab and ICT, are also typically in their late twenties and just over half ofthem are married.Education: LHWs should be educated to at least the eighth class, though it ispreferable for them to be matriculated. Based on LHWs own reports, Punjabi and ICT LadyHealth Workers have an education of at least an 8 th class pass and fifty-five percent haveclass ten or above. Over eighty percent of LHWs in Punjab and ICT could confirm classachievement through showing their school certificate. While the selection criteria forsupervisors requires at least a class 10 pass, in practice most supervisors are considerablybetter qualified. In Punjab and ICT over half of the supervisors have at least graduateeducation.LHW Residence: The vast majority of LHWs live in the village/ mohalla in whichthey work, as required by Programme standards. Nationally four percent are non-residents. InPunjab and ICT it is just over three percent. LHWs are very much part of the community theywork in. In Punjab and ICT forty-seven percent of the LHWs were born within thecommunity and a further forty-six percent have been resident for more than five years.The Programme in Punjab and ICT has been successful in ensuring that the vastmajority of LHWs and their Supervisors meet the educational, age and residency criteria.KEY POINTS• The Lady Health Worker Programme (LHWP) has become an important element in theGovernment of Pakistan’s plan to raise the health status of women and children invillages and poor urban areas.• This report presents information, collected mainly through quantitative surveys on theperformance of the LHWP in Punjab and ICT.• The Programme has been successful in ensuring the vast majority of LHWs and theirSupervisors meet the educational, age and residency criteria.4 See Appendix 2 and the Quantitative Survey Report for more information.3