Stop Mothers Dying!

Stop Mothers Dying!

Did you know that 800 mothers and 5,000 babies die at childbirth every day?  Most of these deaths are preventable.  

Doctor Himansu Basu, a Senior Obstetrician and Gynaecologist and member of the Rotary Club of Northfleet with Ebsfleet Garden City, gave a passionate talk on the work being done by Rotarians and partners to improve this situation in India.  Speaking at a recent meeting of the Rotary Club of South Foreland he referred to the changing face of Rotary from a largely fund raising organisation in the early 1980s to one actively involved in giving service to the global community, as exemplified by his work as Programme Director of the Rotarian Vocational Training Team Initiative to eliminate preventable maternal deaths in India.

Between 2013 and 2016 pilot training programmes were implemented in Sikkim and in that time maternal mortality was halved, with a similar result in Gujarat.  The Vocational Training Team of professional volunteers such as Doctor Basu, work to increase the number of local health care workers, giving them the skills to provide emergency medical care to mothers and babies during childbirth through the use of training techniques such as simulators, video and role play.  Nearly 200 additional professionals were trained in emergency care of pregnant women in the pilot programmes and it is estimated that 30 to 40 more will be trained each year for the next three years.

As well as training, usually delivered in hospitals, raising awareness and knowledge of women’s and children’s health issues in the villages through establishing women’s groups led by accredited Social Health Activists is an important aspect of the process.  Collaborating with the Indian Health Department to analyse maternal deaths and identify their causes helps to determine the preventative action to be taken.  Partnership is vital to success, another partner being the Independent Federation of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.  Above all, Doctor Basu emphasised the need to visit communities, talk to the local people and involve them in the process of sustainable improvement.

This Vocational Training Team has made great progress over the past six years and has the potential to extent its work to other needy areas such as Africa and South East Asia.  This is just one example of the many Rotary Vocational Training Teams which are helping needy people in many parts of the world to overcome problems and improve their quality of life.