Dr. Mala Srivastava is the MOIC at the Marufganj UPHC in Patna, Bihar.
Dr. Mala Srivastava is a gynecologist who for the last 12 years has been serving as the medical officer in-charge (MOIC) at the Marufganj urban primary health center (UPHC) in Patna, Bihar. She had been working to advance family planning services in her region for years before The Challenge Initiative (TCI) began offering technical assistance to the region in August 2022.
Dr. Mala shared:
Being a gynecologist, I recognize the value of family planning. I prefer to counsel the husband and wife jointly on contraceptives and help them realize how important it is for their family. I established a dedicated routine immunization and family planning corner in the UPHC. During field work, ASHAs (Accredited Social Health Activists) do follow up with eligible and interested couples and maintain the daily record.”
Dr. Mala detailed how working alongside TCI has been a game-changer.
TCI’s India team approached me and explained the fixed day static service (FDS) at UPHCs. I was at first skeptical to accept the suggestion because we were already offering routine family planning services. My attitude, however, changed when I saw the HMIS results of patient load, outcomes on FDS days in other states supported by TCI.
A few days after initiating FDS, TCI’s India team suggested to include IUCD services at the UPHC rather than referring IUCD clients to the District Hospital because, despite being referred, many clients didn’t avail services due to accessibility issues. Being a gynecologist, I knew that IUCD can be offered and hence I liked the idea. The barrier that came was that the autoclave with us was not functional. I discussed this with other government officials, and they advised me to hold off until the next budget allocation. As that would have delayed it to long extent, I decided to purchase an autoclave using the un-utilized UPHC fund. Thanks to TCI India for assisting us to initiate FDS and IUCD services.
When the achievements of Marufganj were featured in the media, the service providers of other UPHCs were curious to learn how I did it. I smiled and shared that every challenge has a solution; it just depends on how we approach it.”
