Healthbridge Community Spotlights

Ethnic Minority Midwife Spotlight

In Son La Province, Vietnam, ethnic minority women struggle to access maternal health services due to language barriers, cultural norms, and the remote location of their villages. Ethnic Minority Midwives help to close this gap. By doing so, they are increasing the number of births that occur with a skilled birth attendant, counselling women on prenatal health and ensuring women recieve the WHO recommended amount of check ups during and after their pregnancies.

Male Village Health Workers Spotlight

Male Village Health Workers are a vital part of their communities. Their job includes identifying diseases in the village and alerting the hospitals and community members to prevent their spread, promoting good hygiene and teaching people about nutrition and how to make healthy meals.   Male Village Health Workers get men, husbands and fathers involved in supporting maternal and child health.  They support men to understand why prenatal and postnatal care is important. They also encourage men to help their wives with household tasks, and teach them how to cook nutritious meals. Through doing this, they are breaking gender barriers that prevent women from accessing maternal health services.

Female Community Health Volunteer Spotlight

Female Community Health Volunteers are health volunteers who provide essential health services and information to their communities! Female Community Health Volunteers act as a bridge between community members and local health facilities by promoting the use of services and providing referrals. Female Community Health Volunteers improve community members’ knowledge of issues related to maternal and infant health by conducting workshops at Mothers Groups, and providing individual health check-ups and counseling. In Nepal there are nearly 50,000 Female Community Health Volunteers. They play a vital role in addressing poor maternal and infant health and have been credited with contributing to the declining rates of maternal and infant mortality in Nepal.

HealthBridge Foundation of Canada is a leading Canadian non-profit organization improving the health of vulnerable populations worldwide. Since 1982, HealthBridge has worked with local partners in Asia, Africa and the Americas to bridge gaps in health, including prevention of malnutrition, infectious disease and emerging epidemics.

Published:

July 25, 2019


Author:

Healthbridge


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