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ECHO India, a non-profit organisation revolutionising capacity building of healthcare workforce across the country, has partnered with ARTIST for HER (Asian Research and Training Institute for Skill Transfer) to initiate capacity building programnes for healthcare professionals providing maternal and child health (MCH) services.
ARTIST (Asian Research & Training Institute for Skill Transfer) for Her is a premier institute involved in Advocacy, Research & Training related to women's healthcare. Both organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to take forward this partnership, which aims to mentor various MCH workforce, including gynaecologists, nurses and even community health workers like ASHAs in providing better antenatal care, skilled care during childbirth, and care and support in the weeks after childbirth to reduce maternal mortality rate (MMR).
Dr Hema Divakar, chairperson and CEO of ARTIST for Her said, “The current MMR of 130 and neonatal mortality rate of 24 suggest that though there has been a lot of improvement in maternal and child health indicators, a lot still needs to be done to achieve the targets defined by Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our collaborative efforts with ECHO India will focus on mentoring doctors, nurses and ASHAs on providing better pre and ante natal care, leading to not only saving the lives of mothers and new-born children, but also give an opportunity to institute preventive healthcare. By building capacity across all levels of healthcare providers, we would be strengthening a seamless networking of primary healthcare facilities to the higher centres for continued care as required.”
As per a report published in a prominent healthcare journal PLOS Global Public Health in July this year, despite the progress achieved, approximately one-quarter of all maternal deaths worldwide occur in India. The findings of this report suggest that 70% of districts (448 out of 640 districts) in India have reported MMR (maternal mortality ratio) above 70 deaths—a target set under Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The setting up of a telementoring ‘hub’ on the ARTIST for Her in Bengaluru will facilitate regular capacity building sessions using digital technology, she noted.
Dr Sandeep Bhalla, associate vice president, ECHO highlighted how the ECHO model enables case-based learning of healthcare providers - doctors, nurses, ASHAs, Community Health Workers and others- amplifying their ability to provide quality healthcare for underserved people.
“Owing to its successful implementation across all 28 states for diseases like tuberculosis, cancer screening and mental health, ECHO has already established itself as the go-to platform for building capacity in many national healthcare programs under a MoU signed in 2019 with the ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW), Government of India”, added Dr. Bhalla.
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