Addressing systemic gaps to ensure better health outcomes for mothers and children through improved access to information and services along with capacity building of healthcare workers.
Reducing maternal and child mortality and morbidity is critical to unleash our demographic potential, improve long-term productivity and ensure India’s socio-economic development.
Almost 90 per cent of maternal deaths in India are avoidable if women receive the right kind of intervention. The frontline health workers like the Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) and Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs), play an important role in access and delivery of public health services, more so in remote and inaccessible terrains across India.
There is a need to train health workers to deliver quality antenatal and childhood care services, including management of high risk factors during pregnancy.
Empowering mothers and strengthening health systems
ARMMAN shifts focus from hospital-based care to preventive care during pregnancy and childhood and strengthens primary care and referral system, whereby frontline health workers manage low-risk patients efficiently and those requiring tertiary care are referred efficiently to avoid any delays.
We utilise mobile health (mHealth) platforms, like voice calls and SMS, to disseminate crucial health information to pregnant women and new mothers. The deep penetration of mobile phones enables us to reach marginalised and underserved communities, offering them valuable guidance and support throughout the pregnancy and early childhood stages.
Simultaneously, we also enhance the capabilities and expertise of healthcare workers, empowering them to deliver efficient antenatal and childhood care. Through specialized training and skill-building leveraging mHealth technology, health workers are equipped to identify high-risk factors during pregnancy and early childhood, ensuring prompt referrals and monitoring of such cases. By fortifying the public health system in this manner, ARMMAN strives to create a more robust and responsive healthcare framework for the benefit of mothers, children, and neonates across the communities we serve.