2023-2025

Making Pregnancy and Childbirth Safer for Nepali Women

©Karin Schermbrucker/ Cartier Philanthropy

2023-2025

One Heart Worldwide

One Heart Worldwide exists to save the lives and promote the well-being of mothers and their new-borns in underserved areas of rural Nepal. It engages with local government authorities and communities to upgrade birth centres, equip them properly, train staff and community workers, and establish effective health facility management. Once the system is fully functional in a district, One Heart gradually tapers out its assistance, leaving local government in charge while monitoring the results to sustain quality over the long term. Since 2010, One Heart’s programmes have provided access to quality maternal and new-born care for over one million mothers and new-born infants, reaching 37% of all districts in Nepal. In 2022 alone their programmes impacted 200,000 women and new-born infants, representing 15% of all annual births in the country.

www.oneheartworldwide.org

CHALLENGE

Nepal has halved the incidence of maternal mortality over the past two decades. Despite this progress, 2,000 expectant mothers still die every year. In remote areas, persistent shortages of trained midwives and inadequate infrastructure result in unsafe deliveries.

ACTION

One Heart Worldwide’s “Network of Safety” model ensures that pregnant women in rural Nepal receive quality maternal and new-born care during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period. The organisation works hand in hand with local government authorities and communities to identify the needs and challenges in every district. Together, they develop a plan to co-invest and renovate birth centres, equip them properly, train staff and community workers, and reach out to pregnant women and families to increase the likelihood that they seek prenatal care and deliver their babies safely at a facility. Placing sustainability as a central priority, One Heart invests during a period of six years to get a district’s maternal and neonatal health system to be fully functional and locally owned.