Better Maternal Care for Adolescent Tarahumaras

Since our last report, things have changed for the better. We had originally set a goal to train 200 community health volunteers, but with new commitments from various stakeholders across the state - that number just got bigger. We are pleased to inform you all that our project in the Copper Canyon of Mexico is now set to reach more women and communities than we had expected. 

Thanks to the committment of the State Health Department of Chihuahua and the municipal jurisdictions' efforts to irradicate maternal mortality, as well as a committment from the State Government and its Social Development Department, we have been able to raise the bar for improving maternal and newborn health in the most affected communities of the Sierra Tarahumara. Through a committment made by One Heart Mexico and government entities dedicated to this project, we have been able to agree to train a total of 500 community health volunteers by the end of September of 2013 in order to implement our Network of Safety model. Additionally, we will have trained at least 200 health providers in topics like Emergency Obstetrics, Helping Babies Breathe Protocol and Intercultural Sensitivity, plus, 30 key memebers of the health system will be trained in Basic Use of the Ultrasound Machine. All of this makes for a  total of 730 people trained this year in the Sierra Tarahumara to implement and improve a statewide strategy for the reduction of maternal and newborn mortality. 

One Heart World-Wide's new goal is to raise money for the purchase of two ultrasound machines that will benefit over 2,000 women in the Sierra Tarahumara. We have agreed to allocate those machines in the areas where they are most needed. The agreement made with the various state agencies will also introduce monthly food incentives for the community health volunteers, starting in August of this year. This will provide a stronger committment from these volunteers to implement this project and will thus improve the lives of so many women. Becasue of the support you have given us up to this point, we have been able to provide trainings to 157 community health volunteers,100 health providers and have been able to reach close to 400 women.

Thanks for the continued support!