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Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Right to Health, Mission to India in November-December 2007
The former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health (UN SR-RH), Paul Hunt, came to India on a mission in 2007 to understand the steps taken by the government regarding maternal mortality. The report provides a right-to-health analysis of the serious issue of preventable maternal deaths in India. The report has been recently tabled at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, where the current UN SR-RH Anand Grover presented it. The Government of India has taken cognizance of it and provided a response in the Council.
The report is available on the University of Essex website within the list (3rd bullet) (http://www.essex.ac.uk/human_rights_centre/research/rth/index.aspx). This UN report is supported by a Supplementary Note which provides some additional background information, and outlines a right-to-health approach to maternal mortality.
SAHAYOG organized an extremely successful Civil Society Dialogue for the visit of the UN SR and his team on 1 Dec 2007 in collaboration with other organizations and individuals. See here for the final report of the Mission. Presentations by Civil Society and the Media Coverage of UNSR
Video Resources
Video documentary Voices from the Ground on the efforts with the Mahila Swasthya Adhikar Manch (Women's Health Rights Forum) in Uttar Pradesh. The film highlights the persisting challenges with the quality of services in rural health centres in Uttar Pradesh, the state with extremely high maternal mortality. The film depicts how community discussions on actual experiences of poor maternal health services lead to rights-based analyses. The local women's organizations are thus able to come together as claimants and create a demand for improvements in health services.
Discrimination against women leads to preventable deaths and injuries during pregnancy and child birth. Each year hundred of thousands of women and girls die and millions more become disabled as a result of complications during pregnancy and child birth. A recent study by United Nations Human Rights office (OHCHR) finds a clear relationship between maternal mortality and morbidity and violations of human rights
This short documentary is the story of a widower whose wife died during childbirth. He speaks of how his wife's death could have been prevented. The UN human rights office says discrimination against women is causing unnecessary deaths and injuries during pregnancy and childbirth. In the video, the High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has emphasized the importance of women's access to information, access to highest attainable standard of health and access to enjoy benefit of scientific progress to prevent maternal mortality. She also underscores the fact that many lives of women and girls can be saved by enabling them to participate in decision making processes that affect their pregnancy and delivery.
Resources for discussions on Quality of care
The booklet Haq aur Haqeeqat -2 (HH2, meaning ‘Rights and Reality’) was produced using the case studies from the study of women’s experiences with attempting institutional delivery. This selection of ten stories was accompanied with the explanation of their constitutional rights; information about the public health standards that women might expect at their local health centres; information about the budgets available for improving access and quality of services, and information about recent government orders on maternal health. NGO Staff members were trained in using this booklet for ‘conscientization’ discussions at village meetings (using the methodology developed by Paolo Freire).The HH2 booklet was used for reading out stories (cases) and starting discussions in village meetings around women’s experiences with the quality of maternal health services. It led to women disclosing other similar experiences/recent cases, analyzing why these happened, and planning for change through collective actions and recommendations to the government.
Resources for Parliamentarian
This booklet aims to promote better understanding of maternal health issues and contains information and recommendations for new MPs in India. It initially sets out the magnitude of the problem, highlights the inequitable nature of maternal health provision, provides some case studies of women and some examples of how the situation can be changed. The second section talks of the policy and programme elements and gives some policy recommendations. The final section proposes some actions that can be taken up within Parliament, as a member of a political party and as an elected representative of a constituency. The 14 -page booklet includes contributions by a group of organizations and individuals, and was edited and produced by SAHAYOG
This four-page Briefing Sheet discusses the current maternal mortality reduction approach of the government within NRHM. It sets out the findings of a recent collaborative study of women's experiences with Institutional Delivery in selected blocks of six states, highlighting the gaps and some cases of actual women. The brief provides a set of recommendations called "What women need"
Resources for Community Trainings
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Body Apron Set – The set is a quick guide to the human body. It comprises a skin-coloured cloth apron set that shows the inside of the human body, the various stages of the menstrual cycle, the process of conception, development of the foetus and how contraception works. Labelled in Hindi, it has 17 detachable button-on panels.
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‘Gur Me Surakshit Prasav Kaise Kare’ (How to Have Safe Delivery at Home) – A Hindi guide for training community birth attendants on how to conduct safe delivery at home. This set of flash-cards has 37 pictures with text.
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‘Gharelu Sanjeevani' (Guide to Home Remedies) – This illustrated manual is intended to help even low-literacy community health workers use herbal-based home remedies for common health problems.
Resources for Awareness-Building and Campaigns
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‘Citizens Without Rights’ (CD) – A film, available in short and long formats, documenting testimonies of women survivors who have struggled to seek justice after violations of their rights, including right to maternal health, right to reproductive health services, right to choice and right to be free of violence (Short: 20 minutes, Long: 35 minutes).
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Puri Nagrik Pura Haq: Maternal Health and Rights Campaign Uttar Pradesh Report (2006) – A pictoral report of activities carried out between 6 March to 28 May, 2006 as part of the Puri Nagrik Pura Haq (Complete Citizens, Total Rights) campaign, during which poor women from 17 districts advocated for their right to maternal health.
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Puri Nagrik Pura Haq: Right to Maternal Health Campaign (2006) (Wall Planner) – In Hindi
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The Issue of High Maternal Deaths in Uttar Pradesh State (2006) (Poster)
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Women’s Right to Maternal Health (2006) (Posters)
Advocacy Materials
- Maternal Health Policy & Programme Solutions (2007) (Flyer) – This flyer describes a new way to approach work on maternal health by viewing women as rights holders. The flyer also summarizes the work of SAHAYOG and partner NGOs to build women’s capacity to monitor and help improve maternal health services in Uttar Pradesh.
- Uttar Pradesh Mein Matritwa Swasthya Ek Suchana Sankalan (Information kit on Maternal Health in Uttar Pradesh) (2005) – A Hindi briefing kit that describes cases of denial of maternal health services, local information about the health services available and the services women are entitled to.
Articles and Studies
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Civil Society Window on Reducing Maternal Mortality – Some Workable Solutions (2006)
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Community Based Audit for Monitoring Quality of Maternal Health Services in Uttaranchal, India (2006) – A summary of the process and outcomes of a community based audit of primary maternal health service provision and service uptake that was carried out in two development blocks of two different districts of Uttaranchal state in northern India, Nainital and Udham Singh Nagar.
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Experiences with Janani Suraksha Yojana in Uttar Pradesh: Analysis of Case Studies by SAHAYOG and Partners (2007) – A paper that draws on documented case studies to detail the results of an assessment of the implementation of JSY in U.P., including how far JSY has succeeded in having pregnant women registered and tracked, how far JSY has motivated women to attend institutions for childbirth, and whether institutions have improved maternal health services as a result of NRHM.
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Literature Review on Access to Health Services for Women Workers in the Unorganized Sector (2006-2007) – An examination of what current literature says about the conditions, situation and access to health services for women workers in the unorganized sector in India, with particular focus on these women’s ability to access maternal health services.
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Maternal Mortality in India: Dying to Give Birth: Background Overview Paper for the 10 IWHM (2005) – A paper exploring the seriousness of the problem of maternal mortality in India that traces the key perspectives and debates surrounding maternal mortality, analyzes the current policies and laws, and highlights the current state of services and finances available for maternal health.
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The Womb of Death (2005) – A booklet describing the myriad ways in which unlettered women from villages in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand have begun to exercise their agency and raise their voice to prevent maternal death.
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WHRAP Phase II Baseline Survey Report (2006) – A report on the findings of a baseline survey carried out with WHRAP partner organizations in 2006 that gives an insight into the current scenario and assesses the capacities at the level of CBOs, community women, EAG partners, and state government officials to make advocacy on maternal health effective and sustainable.
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Women’s Voices: State accountability for Maternal health in Uttar Pradesh (2004) – A state-level report prepared in context of the CEDAW Implementation Review by NGOs in 2004. It contains an analysis of 12 case studies on maternal health and 11 cases on family planning operations performed on women, in the light of CEDAW commitments by the government.
Event Reports
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Abortion Assessment Project-India: Meeting Report – A report in Hindi and English on the State Level Dissemination Meeting.
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Partners in Change: State-Level Dialogue on the Right to Safe Motherhood (2004) – A report summarizing the background, objectives, activities and outcomes of the State-Level Dialogue on the Right to Safe Motherhood that was held on May 27, 2004 and organized by Kriti Resource Centre and WHRAP Network Partners.
- Voices from the Ground: Women Show the Way – Event Report (2005) – An in-depth report on the Voices from the Ground dialogue held from 27-29 December, 2005 between community women and men, NGOs and government officials.
Other Resources
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Demands for Women’s Rights to Maternal Health (Pamphlet)
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Manual for Community Documentation on Safe Motherhood – This manual contains information on the right to safe motherhood, the role of community documentation in a rights-based approach, the issues that should be documented, how to conduct and share a community needs assessment, how to document case studies, and how to use case studies for community awareness and planning.
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Understanding Reproductive Health - A Resource Pack - A collection of 14 booklets on important reproductive health topics. The booklets focusing specifically on maternal health include: Booklet 5 – Maternal Health Is Still Important and Booklet 6: The Promise of Better Health: Women’s Health.
Also Available for Viewing or Borrowing
To download or order these resources, visit the Information Resource Center.
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