New Delhi: White Ribbon Alliance India launched an e-learning program on Respectful Maternity Care (RMC) for healthcare providers. The course was developed in partnership with Aastrika foundation, a Nilekani Philanthropies Initiative. The aim of this online program is to enable healthcare workers, from both the public and private sectors, to integrate RMC into their day-to-day services and to enhance the experience of maternity care that women avail.
India has made promising strides in reducing maternal mortality rates, and ensuring that women receive respectful maternity care is an important component of service provision. Reports and research point to the fact that women in India and across the globe, continue to face disrespect in maternity care services. Enhancing healthcare providers’ capacity to provide RMC will contribute towards the improved provision of RMC as part of skilled care, which in turn, will improve overall maternal and neonatal outcomes in the country.
The Government of India’s commitment to the provision of assured and Respectful Maternity Care (RMC) is enshrined in national maternal health schemes such as LaQshya, and SUMAN.
WRA India has been leading advocacy efforts to ensure that RMC is recognised as a core component of quality of care and a basic human right for all childbearing women in India.
By standardising RMC as an important component of maternal care, doctors, nurses, and healthcare providers, at large, will be able to improve maternal and neonatal outcomes in the country. This e-learning program of 2.5 hours free of cost can be taken at one own’s pace and is compatible with mobile and computers. On completion, learners will be able to download a certificate. The course will cover eight crucial topics – Introduction to Respectful Maternity Care, Disrespect & Abuse: Incidences & Reasons, Care & Respect for the caregivers, Promoting Client-Provider Accountability, Implementing Facility-based Respectful Maternity Care, and Institutionalizing Respectful Maternity Care in Facility Action Plans.
Speaking at the launch, Dr Aparajita Gogoi, Executive Director of C3, and the National Coordinator of The White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood, India, said “In the true sense of the term, RMC is much more than the absence of disrespect and abuse. What women deserve is care with dignity, privacy and confidentiality, informed choice, and continuous support during labour and childbirth.”
Pompy Sridhar, the India Director for MSD for Mothers shared, “Access to high quality and respectful maternal care is at the core of our efforts at MSD for Mothers to ensure the provision of a continuum of care in India. Integrating technology to reach the last mile will help us build a robust health system that is equipped to provide the care every woman deserves in our nation. We are grateful to FOGSI, WRAI/C3, and Aastrika for their collaboration.”
Sharing his insights, Dr Hrishikesh D. Pai, President, FOGSI & Chief Administrator, FOGSI-Manyata Initiative said, “As the custodians of women’s health, an inclusive and complementary approach is the need of the hour. We are leveraging technology to drive equity and ensure that quality of care trickles down to the last mile. FOGSI is committed to ensuring high-quality, safe and respectful care to every woman.”
