Safe motherhood and child survival and community awareness.

Programme Background

According to data provided by the WCD department, there are 48,372 ICDS centres in the state, benefiting 110 lakh children. The supplementary nutrition component of ICDS is benefiting around 39.26 lakh children and preschools are benefiting 12.60 lakh children in the state. As per NHFS3, 43.7% of children below five years of age are stunted; exclusive breastfeeding and complementary feeding of children remain significant challenges (NFHS, 2005/6).
Over half of all women are anaemic as are 69.7 of children in the 6-59 months age group.
30% of children are born with low birth weight contributing to under nutrition later in life (World Bank report). Socio- cultural factors make women susceptible to ill health leading to high risk pregnancies, child morbidity and mortality and reduced capacity for taking care of the child.
Early marriages and with only 40% couples adopting family planning methods, frequent pregnancies and closed spaced child births further deteriorate the health of the mother leading to more high risk pregnancies.
Moreover, in absence of information and knowledge among community members on health issues and lack of effective monitoring, the health services often cannot be availed by beneficiaries.

To address the mentioned issues, organisation developed, implemented and monitored the project in consultation and with support from donor agency, community members, duty bearers and PRI members. Following interventions was undertaken to improve access to knowledge & quality health services to women like building capacities of mothers, ANM, ASHA on identifying danger signs of pregnancy, motivate families to go for institutional delivery through joint visits, printing & educating through IEC materials on health issues, support govt. in holding health camps. Efforts were made to improve nutritional status of children through interventions like sensitizing & building capacity of VHSC, ANM, AWW, ASHA, parents & adolescents on identifying cases of malnutrition, diarrhea, ARI etc attending coordination meeting with health & ICDS dept ensuring their support, providing support during MCHN days, facilitate referrals for malnourished children to MTC etc

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Location

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Partners

Block Lunkaransar and Chattargarh Dist. Bikaner and Block Sardarshahar Dist. Churu.

INTERVENTIONS

1. Coordination meeting and PHC/CHC sector meetings.
2. Printing of a comprehensive IEC material including information on reproductive sexual health, promotion of health seeking behaviour, maternal health , protection & awareness, life skills and Other Health Issue
3. Training of 15 staff members on RCH program(Danger signs during pregnancy,labour&post-partum, Institutionaldeliveries, Infant feeding practises, Malnutrition)
4. Training of Adolescents, women & VHSC members on root causes of malnutrition & different ways of addressing, capacitating them on importance of growth monitoring chart & MUAC.
5. Training of Village Health Committee members on health issues.
6. Training of AWW on ANC/PNC Check-up,JSY and Mchn Day
7.Mothers training on Birth preparedness.
8. Provision ofTransportation cost of Emergency Referral Cases of Sponsored Children.
9. Training of youth on HIV/Aids
10. Training of Eligible couples on use of differentfamily planning method
11. Home visit by ASHA and PU Staff members on Institutional Delivery.
12. Holding health camps with Govt. Support in Inaccessible areas
13.Immunization&family planning support(MCHN Day)
14.Support in govt. campaign ( providing vitamin A & deworming

Impact

a) There is general awareness about the immunisation, growth monitoring, health & personal hygiene trainings, information on health schemes etc. PU organized awareness programs on the key requirements for healthy development of a child and safe motherhood. Government Staff reported increased numbers of parents are coming forward to immunise their children. 2783 children (94 %) of project area were fully immunized.

b) Awareness programs for mothers & elders on safe motherhood have helped them understand importance of birth preparedness plans & institutional delivery. 140 pregnant women got their birth plans made & 2954 pregnant women were registered last year of which 2407 women gave birth to their child in health centres.

c) Government health staff informed that meetings are being held with Village Health committee (VHSCs) members to discuss health issues & joint home visit by ASHA are being conducted to identify malnourished children, eligible children for vaccination & aware mothers & family members on safe child & motherhood practices. Community members informed that trainings of ANM/ASHA have improved the quality of services provided by them.

d) 79 pregnant women received ANC services, medical checkups, free medicines& counselling by doctors during 4 health camps organised in remote villages.

e) A survey was conducted by an independent agency to assess & compare the actual nutritional situation of children in project villages & non project villages. 19 ( 1.04%) out of 1825 children surveyed were found severely malnourished as compared to 29 (3.02%) out of 960 surveyed in villages not covered under plan project.

f) Organisation arranged for transportation of 4 pregnant women to hospital at the time of delivery in emergency situation.

g) Most of the mothers are exclusively breast feeding their infants. This year 40 ASHAs, 43 ANMs and GNMs, 21 TBA’s 143 pregnant women & 70 VHSC members were trained on the key areas of Safe motherhood, infant and early childhood care.

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