Towards Holistic Maternal and Child Well-Being

Kancheepuram is a district in Tamil Nadu where Ekam has a fairly strong presence through its network of stakeholders. The district whose infant mortality rate is 27 per 1000 live births, also fares badly with respect to the status of its maternal health. Stakeholder discussions reveal that the poor community awareness and late referrals to the hospital are major contributors to the problem. In addition, the main tertiary care hospitals are ill-equipped to treat the

patients who are referred to due to lack of adequate infrastructure, consumables, medicines, etc.

-Providing hospitalization support, medicines, drugs, injections, blood, etc. to needy children.

-Providing medical equipment to the newborn in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) or Specialised Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) in a government hospital.

-Conducting camps or activities to screen children needing healthcare support in the community.

-Providing awareness and training on health-related topics to the community.

-Training and support to the healthcare staff in ICDS (Integrated Child Development Services) centres on initiatives

-Training adolescents on reproductive and sexual well-being of adolescents.

The 2-year program will focus on bringing about a reduction in the number of deaths at the health facility level. Government hospitals (selected facilities) will be provided with lifesaving equipment and consumables. Village committees and youth groups will be provided with training and behaviour-change workshops. Children identified will be provided with appropriate government healthcare support and if required, private hospitalization support.

The overall budget for the program is Rs 2620800.

It is envisaged that there will be a marked improvement in the community’s awareness and behaviour with respect to their health. In addition, it is estimated that the village panchayat committees and youth committees will take charge of their community’s health and will function independently. Finally, the objective of the exercise is to bring about a reduction in the number of neonatal, child deaths and maternal deaths in the project area.