Mothers' allowance directly distributed in Karnali Province

By Our Correspondent,Humla, Aug. 3: The maternity encouragement allowance provided by the Karnali Province government has been distributed directly to new mothers in their villages. Due to delays in the release of funds from the provincial government, health workers from the concerned health institutions distributed the allowance at the mothers’ homes even after the fiscal year had ended.

Janaki Budha, a new mother from Syada village in Ward No. 8 of Simkot Rural Municipality, shared that health workers had come to her home to distribute the maternity incentive provided by the provincial government through Syada Health Post. She mentioned that she had already received the maternity allowance and transportation expenses provided earlier by the federal government. She expressed that the provincial support would be used properly and would help her manage the necessary food and nutrition for herself and her baby.

The Karnali Province government has been distributing the allowance across all ten districts of the province. Ravi Rawat, the coordinator of the concerned health post, stated that health workers personally visited the homes of new mothers in the ward to hand over the encouragement amount directly into their hands. This time, the support was provided directly to the mothers themselves after complaints were received in the past that the support was being misused by other family members.

Expressing happiness after receiving the amount, the mothers shared their gratitude. The health workers mentioned that this approach motivates expecting mothers to seek proper medical care.

Nar Bahadur Bhandari, the coordinator of the Health Section of Simkot Rural Municipality, stated that the encouragement amount, which had been delayed from the provincial government, was distributed across all wards by health workers. He shared that each new mother received Rs. 2,500 as part of this incentive. He further mentioned that the incentive was distributed to 253 mothers in the previous fiscal year.

This amount was provided to women who had institutional deliveries throughout the year at four health posts, three community health units, one basic health service center, and one district hospital. He added that the provincial government’s incentive has played a significant role in encouraging pregnant women in the rural municipality to undergo regular antenatal checkups and opt for institutional delivery, in line with the established health protocol.