LHW Badar-un-Nisa goes door to door to raise awareness of family planning.
Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, has an estimated population of 20.3 million and is administratively divided into seven districts. Since October 2022, The Challenge Initiative (TCI) has been supporting Karachi’s local governments in scaling up family planning services by strengthening the health system and local capacity.
In Orangi Town, an urban slum in Karachi’s West District, TCI has trained a cadre of Master Coaches, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to implement high-impact practices and interventions such as postpartum and post-abortion family planning, whole site orientations, and integrated community outreaches, where Lady Health Workers (LHWs) play a crucial role.
Badar-Un-Nisa on her bike.
One of these Master Coaches, Badar-un-Nisa, has developed a unique approach to overcoming the challenges of reaching women with family planning information. She rides a motorbike to efficiently provide door-to-door family planning services. Her motorbike is not only cost-effective but also allows her to navigate narrow streets and congested areas where other vehicles cannot go.
With her motorbike, Badar-un-Nisa is able to cover a large area each day, delivering family planning commodities and raising awareness about important issues such as birth spacing and how family planning benefits both maternal and child health.
Initially, she faced significant criticism and societal challenges, as women in her area typically do not ride motorbikes. Some people even believed she was setting a bad example for young girls. However, with the support of her siblings, she gradually gained acceptance from the community by sensitizing them to her mission.
Badar-un-Nisa explains:
Family planning is a right of a every single woman and many deserving females who are looking for support are not able to get FP-related services because they are unable to travel to the health facilities and community health workers are unable to visit them on regular basis, My independent approach of outreach work is supporting many families since I am covering more areas which are impossible without bike.”
In addition to providing family planning services, Badar-un-Nisa offers transportation to women in the community, especially on Family Health Days, to help them access long-term (long-acting reversible contraception) and permanent methods (female sterilization) offered at health facilities.
Dr. Hafiza Saira Shahzadi, the health facility in-charge at the Urban Health Center Aligarh in District West, often mentions Badar-un-Nisa at public forums:
Family planning uptake needs warriors like Badar-un-Nisa who are dedicated to reach those who are unable to visit the facilities. Women’s empowerment is necessary in the work of family planning since an enabling environment plays a vital role in increasing FP demand, which is impossible unless we eliminate myths and misconceptions and provide a platform where females can have informed choices. Badar-un-Nisa is setting a great example as an independent lady health worker.”
Thanks to her community outreach efforts, client volume at the health facility has increased and is expected to continue growing.
