Representative from Embrace visits Deepak Foundation…

Vadodara: Elyse Marr, representative from Embrace, traveled all the way from USA to Deepak Foundation, with a view of getting an orientation about the Foundation’s efforts in reducing infant and maternal mortality in the Vadodara district. Embrace is a non-profit organization that is developing a low cost infant warmer to protect millions of newborns who are susceptible to hypothermia.

She was briefed about the activities of the Foundation on her arrival. During her three days stay i.e. 16th December to 18th December, 09 at the Foundation, she visited Waghodia and Kawant blocks of the district where the Foundation is implementing its Safe Motherhood and Child Survival project in partnership with the Department of Health and Family Welfare.

On the first day she visited Waghodia and assessed conditions of the Sub-Center (the nearest public health facility accessible to rural people). She also met several village women health volunteers undergoing trainings to be absorbed as Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs). These women volunteers trained by the Foundation also support the Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) in various health activities at village and sub-center level.

“I am impressed with the work done by the ASHAs. The support given by them to pregnant and nursing women during her maternity period is commendable. Lack of proper education, meager incentives, difficult conditions, irregular availability of public health services hasn’t hampered their spirits,” opined Elyse.

With the view of exploring the home based treatment given by local women to pregnant and newborns with low birth weight babies, she visited Kawant on 17th December. Field visits were made to villages of Rumadiya and Muset wherein she met mothers of low birth weight babies. She said that it was essential to study the practices followed in the region and and do a need assessment before finalizing the model of newborn warmer. She added, “The feasibility of keeping community warmer at the village level with the ASHAs who would provide the facility to newborn with low birth weight was one among the prospects. This might help in bringing down IMR in the region”.

In the later part of her visit, she also held a discussion with the Director of the Foundation in order to explore potential avenues for partnerships in future.