Empowerment of Community Health Workers by Capacity building of Traditional Birth Attendants in Lakhpat and Banni area in Kutch

In India a large number of pregnant women have limited or no access to primary health care facilities or services. As a result of this majority of these women have to rely on Traditional Birth Attendants (TBA), a fact further confirmed by the baseline survey conducted by the Shroff Foundation Trust in Banni and Lakhpat in 2006. This along with the fact that over half of all women have anemia poses great risk to both the mother as well as the infant. In recent years the government has engaged in spreading information about the concept of institutional deliveries and has encouraged the practice of the same. In line with achieving this objective the government plans to set up Health Service Centers. This however is a time consuming process. An alternative of equipping these TBAs with necessary training and aseptic delivery practices is being promoted.

Shroffs Foundation Trust undertook the project to train Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) to function as Rural Health Workers and reliable resource group for promoting community health and nutritional opportunities for neonates, infants, children, especially girls and women of Banni and Lakhpat blocks. Total 251 TBAs from 129 villages were trained during January to October 2007.