Filling the gap. JICA Reproductive Health Project. Nghi Loe district

Our district, which is composed of 33 communes, is economically poor with unacceptably low health conditions. Many health problems could not be adequately addressed due to the lack of needed resources and technology. But the Japan International Cooperation Agency project, which was started in 1997, has been effectively assisting us in improving the health situation, especially in reproductive health. We highly appreciate the support, which has helped us to disseminate health information to the general public, especially pregnant women. Health workers such as midwives and assistant doctors have been able to improve their skills after attending the training courses. The provision of equipment and instruments has been of great help. We would not have been able to procure them on our own budget, even over the next 10 years. One of our major concerns is the big gap in the health conditions among communes. The health conditions of people in the mountainous area are lower compared to the people in communes in and near the center of the district. The difference exists not only in the health field, but also education and economic fields. To fill the gap, we are encouraging the advanced communes to continue to develop their programs while giving much stronger assistance to the less advanced communes.