BEHIND THE MASK: Pakistan’s First On-line Interactive Documentary on Woman Well being Staff.
Pakistan (Muhammad Yasir) Public Companies Worldwide (PSI) proclaims the launch of Pakistan’s first on-line interactive documentary expertise, offering essential perception into the lives of woman well being staff who proceed to face on the frontlines of Pakistan towards all infectious ailments, saving lots of of lives, each single day.
Woman well being staff are a part of a authorities program that was developed in 1994 to supply fundamental well being care companies to underprivileged communities in rural and low-income city areas. They’ve performed a vital position in polio vaccine dispensation, pre- and post-natal consciousness and healthcare for rural moms, and well being training and promotion, household planning, and most not too long ago, for COVID-19.
Divided right into a collection of episodes, “Behind the Masks: Pakistan” is a key episode which focuses on the struggles confronted by healthcare staff particularly in Pakistan, chronicling their challenges and the influence of COVID-19 on their lives. The Pakistan episode of the documentary highlights the work of Hassena, a woman well being employee [LHW] who, alongside together with her colleagues, fashioned the All Sindh Woman Well being Staff and Staff Union (ASLHWEU) to advocate for higher working circumstances and wages.
With “Behind the Masks: Pakistan”, PSI campaigns for flood aid, the restoration of the well being danger allowance for well being staff, provision of the service construction for woman well being staff, and the cancellation of debt, together with Pakistan’s sovereign debt as a part of local weather reparations.
Certainly, regardless of the essential frontline position of woman well being staff within the struggle towards ailments equivalent to polio, cholera, and COVID-19, they proceed to face harassment, horrible working circumstances, low pay, inflation and wage stagnation, lack of latest hiring regardless of elevated want, threats as polio staff, vaccines shortages and inequality, and an absence of recognition. To this finish the Behind The Masks: Pakistan episode focuses on key points equivalent to vaccine entry, wages and hiring, the service construction, and ILO Conference 190[1], which seeks to guard folks from violence and harassment at work.
For the reason that documentary was filmed, the well being danger allowance has been withdrawn for healthcare staff, regardless of being always in danger, treating sufferers with infectious ailments. Points round wages and hiring together with the dearth of funding for the well being care sector, proceed to construct and the latest devastating flood has created further well being crises.
The floods have displaced a minimum of 7.9 million folks and broken or destroyed greater than 2 million homes and 1,460 well being services wiping out a big a part of the nation’s agriculture. Frontline staff are struggling to deal with the fast disaster of injured and displaced folks whereas the unfold of water-borne ailments and restricted medical provides proceed to create additional hardship. Certainly, an enormous variety of Woman Well being Staff themselves have been affected by the flood by way of displacement and sickness.
“Behind the Masks: Pakistan” then sheds a lightweight on the continual protest of Pakistan’s healthcare staff to demand the resumption of the well being danger allowance, the service construction and equally the persecution of these protesting, by way of arrest and the usage of power.
Behind The Masks: Pakistan episode will be skilled at: https://behindthemask.worldwide/
The documentary is produced in collaboration with Staff Training and Analysis Group (WERO), PSI’s accomplice group in Pakistan that’s strengthening and supporting the motion of woman well being staff.
[1] https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C190