Last month I visited a few villages in India where the Save A Mother program is being implemented. I witnessed a qualitative change in the attitude of women. I heard assertions that they will not let any pregnant mother die. In one meeting a young health activist, Najma, who looked seventeen, recited her experience. When Najma advised a young pregnant woman, who was bleeding, to go to the hospital, the woman refused because Najma seemed too young to advise about pregnancy. Najma went home and persuaded her mother to accompany her to the pregnant woman’s home. With her mother’s help she convinced the pregnant woman to go to the hospital. There the woman delivered. The child died but the mother survived. Now villagers seek out young Najma for health advice.
We continue to train new health activists like Najma every month and conduct refresher trainings for the old activists. In April we trained 74 old activists in Bahadurgarh, Shahgrah and Bethua and we inducted 24 more new health activists.
We also started a new program. Now we conduct a program for all the women in the villages to sensitize them to the issues of maternal and child health. We hope that the program will empower our health activists and they will have more impact in their weekly village level meetings.
We also trained 67 more health activists in eye care. They can detect cataract and minor eye ailments. When they suspect eye disease they refer the person to the eye hospital.
