USAID Funds Health Care Training

More than 60 female doctors and health care workers completed a United States Government-funded USAID training program dedicated to the care of Pakistani women during pregnancy and after their children are born. Greenstar Social Marketing orchestrated the training, and Lawrence Hardy, Acting Director of USAID-Pakistan, presented certificates to mark the occasion.

“Since more than 70% of Pakistanis seek health care from the private sector, the government, private sector and organizations such as Greenstar Social Marketing need to work collaboratively to provide services,” Mr. Hardy remarked at the ceremony.

Addressing the gathering, Imran Zafar, Chief Executive of Greenstar Social Marketing, spoke of the scope and coverage of the Greenstar family health network and its training program. “What makes us different is the level of involvement we have with our trained medical providers. Social marketing uses commercial business and marketing strategies to change people's behaviour and improve their health.”

USAID returned to Pakistan in July 2002 after seven years, as part of the United States Government's commitment to help Pakistan in the fight on global terrorism. The new USAID office is located inside the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad. The program is focused on four areas: education, governance, health and economic growth. More information about USAID supported activities in each sector is available at www.usaid.gov/pk.