It is a cold rainy day, and a pregnant mother’s water has just broken. A young man stares at the pouring rain hitting the muddy path and sighs. He has no way of getting his wife to the health center that is a two hour walk from his mud-thatched house. He has no money, his bicycle tires are worn out, and they both have no idea what to do! She dies as a result of obstructed … [Read more...] about The Movement For Change
Birth Preparedness
How to save 3.6 million children each year? Invest in community health workers
The following is a Q&A between Julia Bluestone of Jhpiego and the Frontline Health Workers Coalition and Dr. Henry Perry of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health on a recently released report examining community health workers’ effectiveness in saving lives and improving health. The post was originally published in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s … [Read more...] about How to save 3.6 million children each year? Invest in community health workers
Teaching New Mothers Living with HIV about the Importance of Breast-feeding
Though HIV can be transmitted from mother to child through breast milk, studies have shown that women living with HIV are less likely to pass the virus if they breast-feed their babies exclusively for at least four months. Breast milk contains nutrients and essential antibodies that can help babies fend off dangerous infections. The Kamwimbi family in Kenya, where EGPAF and … [Read more...] about Teaching New Mothers Living with HIV about the Importance of Breast-feeding
How To Inspire Courage, Spur Action And Save Lives
April and early May are bookended by World Health Worker Week (April 7-11) and International Day of the Midwife (May 5) -- two opportunities to recognize the invaluable contributions of health workers in saving and bettering the lives of our communities. The women and men who have been on my mind are the innumerable hard-working, selfless, often heroic frontline health workers … [Read more...] about How To Inspire Courage, Spur Action And Save Lives
Improving Maternal and Newborn Health: Effectiveness of a Community Health Worker Program in Rural Kenya
This study looked at the effectiveness of CHW projects in rural Kenya that aimed to promote better maternal newborn health knowledge and to increase deliveries under skilled attendance. Some pieces of information that were examined included: relevant demographic items, knowledge about maternal and newborn health, and whether a retrospective birth history of women’s children … [Read more...] about Improving Maternal and Newborn Health: Effectiveness of a Community Health Worker Program in Rural Kenya