USAID’s New Health Program Extends Remote Area Coverage
Kathmandu, 20 Aug.: USAID/Nepal Thursday announced the launch of its five-year, $15.6 million Ghar Ghar Maa Swasthya (Healthy Homes) program, US embassy said.
The program will assist the Government of Nepal to expand the depth, reach and impact of the private sector in social marketing, by providing low cost supply of maternal child health, family planning and HIV prevention products and services. USAID’s Healthy Homes program comprises two components. Under the first component, USAID is funding the Nepal Contraceptive Retail Sales (CRS) company for social marketing activities, focusing on sustainability and rural, hard-to-reach areas. Under the second component, the Academy for Educational Development (AED), funded by USAID, will assist CRS to achieve increased self-sustainability and to design and implement behavior change communication activities, such as generic campaigns promoting family planning best practices.
Dr. Kevin A. Rushing, Mission Director of USAID/Nepal, remarked “The Healthy Homes program is designed so that focus remains on the most vulnerable populations living in the more remote areas of Nepal. It expects to bring about behavioural change in the at-risk and hard-to-reach populations and enhance the sustainability and self-reliance of CRS, Nepal’s premier social marketing program. Healthy Homes is also reflective of our commitment to mobilize the ideas, efforts and resources of the private sector by forging alliances to address critical issues, including those in the health sector.”
USAID/Nepal’s support in social marketing began in 1978 with the establishment of CRS, one of the oldest and most successful locally-managed social marketing organizations in the world. This support has resulted in CRS being a pioneer in the health communication and product arena. With USAID’s support, CRS has developed cutting-edge social marketing, such as promoting condoms through television and radio and introducing new and innovative public health products like injectable contraceptives. Currently, CRS’s products are available in all 75 districts of Nepal, and its flagship brands include Panther Premium and Dhaal Deluxe condoms, Nilocon White and Sunaulo Gulaf oral contraceptive pills, and Nava Jeevan oral rehydration salts.
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EU envoys push human rights

Kathmandu, 20 Aug.: EU ambassadors collectively pushed for the promotion and protection of human rights Thursday at a meeting with office bearers of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
They pushed for a task force to protest and promote rights to work with international human rights organizations to protect human rights..
The ambassadors asked NHRC to work with international human rights organizations for the protection of rights.
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MEDIA GOOGLE
“Indian help for change and democracy can’t be underestimated.”

(Sher Bahadur Deuba, Annapurna Post, 20 Aug.)

“The party leaders who joined hands to fight regression are not in the same league.”

(Chairman Subash Nemwang, The Himalayan Times, 20 Aug.)
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