India’s Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) program was established by the National Rural Health Mission in 2010 with an aim to improve health outcomes—particularly among women and children—and to reduce disparities by working in their own communities as health activists, educators and providers of basic essential services. While evidence has found ASHAs to have several positive impacts, these community health workers face a number of challenges…read more
Midwifery Is Part of the Culture
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A More Accurate Method for Estimating Country-Level Health Workforce Needs?
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An effective health workforce requires not only a sufficient number of workers, but also an appropriate mix of health care providers or cadres. A group of researchers developed a new model for estimating sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn and adolescent health workforce needs that accounts for demographic and epidemiological differences among countries…read more
Karamoja’s Mothers and Children Reap the Benefits of Health Systems Investments
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Six years ago, only 27% of women in Karamoja delivered in health facilities and the regional maternal mortality rate was 750 per 100,000 live births—among the highest in the world. Last year, 73% of Karamoja’s mothers delivered in health facilities, and medical officers say the maternal mortality rate has sharply declined as a result. So what happened?…read more
New “Global Maternal Health Workforce” Blog Series: Call for Submissions
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Functional health systems depend on the availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality of health workers. An effective maternal health workforce requires not only a sufficient number of workers, but also equitable geographic distribution, diversity in skill, adequate education and training and strong, supportive health systems…read more
International Day of the Midwife: An Interview With Geeta Lal
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Community-Based Maternal Health Care: Meeting Women Where They Are
Posted onAll women deserve respectful, culturally sensitive, women-centered care that takes into account how, where and with whom they want to receive maternal health care. In order to ensure that this happens, health systems must meet women where they are—both literally and figuratively. Community-based approaches can be effective strategies for providing women with the kind of care they want and need in the place they choose…read more
Midwives’ Voices, Midwives’ Realities: Results From the First Global Midwifery Survey
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Posted onUSAID reports that there are 18 million fewer health professionals in the world than what is needed, and the largest shortages are in parts of Asia and in sub-Saharan Africa. This implies that large numbers of women do not have access to skilled health care. Task shifting can be a key strategy to minimize this gap and prevent maternal deaths due to pre-eclampsia/eclampsia…read more
Midwives’ Voices, Midwives’ Realities: A 2016 Report from the World Health Organization
Posted onIn collaboration with the White Ribbon Alliance and the International Confederation of Midwives, the World Health Organization recently published the 2016 “Midwives’ Voices, Midwives’ Realities” report. Midwives play a crucial role in providing high quality care to mothers and newborns around the world, but they face a number of barriers that have not been adequately reflected in research, policy and practice…read more