Swasthya Saarthi
From 2004, we have partnered with the Mac-Arthur Foundation, USA, for Swasthya Saarthi Program directed towards maternal health care.
The main objectives of the program were:
- To increase access of pregnant women to skilled intrapartum and postpartum care.
- To increase awareness about health education among poor self-employed women and their families.
- To increase access to health care by linking SEWA’s integrated insurance programme to its health care programme.
- To advocate for the inclusion of trained traditional birth attendants in health provision.
Major Achievements of the Project:
- 263 midwives were trained and organized as community health workers in 224 villages of Ahmedabad District.
- More than 16,000 women workers and their families have been covered for insurance.
- SEWA has also lobbied with insurance companies to include maternal complications and children in insurance coverage.
- Govt approached SEWA to train auxiliary nurse midwives on communication at the grassroots level.
- Swasthya Sathins managed to reach at least 93% of pregnant women with 3 antenatal and postnatal visits.
- With regards to our advocacy objective, SEWA is a core group member of the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA), a network of organizations at the national and state level formed in the year 2000 to achieve Health for All.
- Several organisations and institutes approached SEWA to support replication of our community-based, women-led integrated health and insurance approach.
