A New Women’s Health Resource Center opens up in Sterpce

30.03.2016

Prishtina, 30 March 2016-

In an official ceremony today, the doors of Women’s Health Resource Center in the Municipality of Sterpce open up in the Family Medicine Center in Drajkovc. The Center provides the much-needed counseling to all the communities in the municipality of Sterpce coming from all ethnic and social backgrounds. Participants are offered practical education and counseling on nutrition, pregnancy phases, preparing for labor, the delivery process, physical exercises, newborn care and breastfeeding for free.

In the opening ceremony today, Mr. Sabri Murseli, the Director of Health Department in Sterpce, emphasized that such a center is crucial to our health institutions and improvement of maternal and child health through education offered in this Center. Mr. Gezim Kokollari, from the Ministry of Health, declared that such initiatives that help improve healthcare provided for mothers and children are always welcome, especially considering the fact that maternal and child health is a top priority for the Ministry. The speech of Dr. Burim Karameta, the Director of the Department of Health and Social Welfare in the Municipality of Ferizaj, showed the importance of inter-municipal cooperation while taking the Women’s Health Resource Center in Ferizaj, set up last year, as a successful model for today’s center in Sterpce.

Albiona Beha, from Action for Mothers and Children, thanked the midwives of the FMC in Drajkovc who will be in charge of providing counseling and leading the activities of the center. “The opening of the Center in Drajkovc-Sterpce marks the 4th location of this program in Kosovo, initiated by Action for Mothers and Children. Up to date, approximately 2,500 women have benefited from the activities of Women’s Health Resource Centers. Last year, Action for Mothers and Children established three such centers in Prishtina and Ferizaj,” – adds Beha.

The set up of the Center in Sterpce and expansion of services of the Women’s Health Resource Center is made possible by the support from UNMIK and the fundraising event “Let’s Dance for Mothers and Children.” The program of the Women’s Health Resource Center is supported by the World Health Organization-office in Prishtina, while the network of these centers is supported by Solidar Suisse Kosova.