26
Aug
2015

Together Women Rise

PROGRAM UPDATE: One Heart World-Wide

One Heart World-Wide was Dining for Women’s featured program in July 2013. At that time, it was awarded a $50,000 grant to help expand the “Network of Safety” program that improves the lives of women and newborns during pregnancy and childbirth in two remote rural areas of Western Nepal. The Network of Safety includes health provider training, health facility improvements, and community outreach programs to ensure that pregnant women and their newborns have access to necessary care.

The goal of DFW’s grant was to train and empower Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHVs) as effective maternal and neonatal health outreach providers in the Baglung and Dolpa districts of Nepal.

In October 2014, One Heart World-Wide reported that a total of 1,121 FCHVs were trained over the past year. These FCHVs reached 9,000 pregnant women and their families in the Baglund district and 934 pregnant women in the Dolpa district.  This has made a tremendous impact on the number of maternal and infant lives saved each year.

In Baglund:

  • The percentage of pregnant women receiving appropriate antenatal care and postnatal care increased from 40% to 61%.
  • The percentage of deliveries attended by a skilled birth attendant increased from 22% to 40%.
  • In areas with a functioning birthing center, facility-based deliveries increased from 19% to 40%.
  • There have been no reported maternal deaths in the Baglung district and only 8 neonatal deaths in the past year. When One Heart started its program in 2011, there were 30 maternal deaths and 300 neonatal death per year (total population is 300,000).

In Dolpa:

  • The percentage of pregnant women receiving appropriate antenatal care and postnatal care increased from under 1% to 25%.
  • The percentage of deliveries attended by a skilled birth attendant increased from 3% to 28%.
  • In areas with a functioning birthing center, facility-based deliveries increased from 1% to 25%.
  • There has been only 1 maternal death and 6 neonatal deaths in the past year. When One Heart started the program in 2011, there were 14 maternal deaths and 91 neonatal deaths per year (total population is 30,000).

From Arlene Samen, Founder and President of One Heart World-Wide, to all DFW members:

“The world is a better place because of people like you, and we (and the thousands of women we work with) are incredibly grateful for you. Thank you for believing in our mission to save mother and baby lives in the most remote parts of the world. Your generosity is an inspiration.”

Read the complete final report from One Heart World-Wide and some of the personal stories of the women you helped.

Final Report | Lalita & Kalpana’s Stories  | Sonam, Nyma & Dorje’s Stories