WCF has been awarded a two-year extension to its Perinatal Care Programme in Bangladesh from the Big Lottery Fund. The programme has been running for three years, in three of the poorest districts, Bogra, Maulvibazar and Faridpur, covering a population of 500,000. The aim is to reduce newborn and maternal deaths using the community action cycle model tested in Nepal, where newborn deaths were reduced by 30 per cent over two years. Outcomes of all births in the programme areas (approximately 1,000 births per month) are being monitored.
The activities during the extension will include:
- Continuing women's groups and involving their local communities including key decision makers to increase knowledge and change care practices
- Linking with other community-based organisations to increase the potential for sustainability
- Training and evaluation of healthcare staff in improved quality of care
- Improving linkages between healthcare staff and service users, including strengthened referral systems
- Disseminating lessons learned, nationally and internationally, with the aim of scaling up the project approaches elsewhere
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