Woman health volunteer at work in Iran. The work in the subprogramme, he said, will include the strengthening of the capacity of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education to plan, coordinate and carry out education, communication and advocacy plans. Work in population and development strategies will include help in policy formulation and the integration of population and gender concerns into the development agenda, according to the Representative. Under advocacy, the Fund will focus on mobilizing the support of opinion leaders for quality reproductive health and on strengthening the capacity of women's organizations and others to promote women's rights and to mainstream gender concerns into development. Education messages on reproductive health and gender will be well relayed, the status of women will be enhanced, and, together, this will bring about a better quality of life for the people.
Health worker serves a client.
In reproductive health, the Representative said, maternal mortality has dropped from about 200 per 100,000 births to 37, between the early 1980s and 1996, while infant mortality fell from 104 per 1,000 live births to 26. Mr. Mosleh-Uddin said that the Fund has helped with clinical contraceptives, such as tubal ligation, vasectomy, and with the provision of Norplant. Furthermore, the Representative said, the Fund joined the Government's nationwide campaigns on safe motherhood and helped train traditional birth attendants and women health volunteers. Up from 200 in 1991, the volunteers make house to house visits to relay messages on population education and the advantages of small family norms.