Training Village Health Workers in Bangladesh

Almost a year has passed since the Immanuel Mohila Kolyan Somity (IMS) first approached Fulcrum Aid to support training of primary health workers in remote regions of the Bandarban Hills. IMS is an Indigenous women’s organisation concerned for the high mortality rate amongst their communities.

Lauren Hodge is facilitating Fulcrum Aid’s partnership with IMS which aims to help women in the Bandarban Hills access safe birthing practices. In February Lauren joined a Fulcrum Aid research team in Bangladesh and was able to meet with the IMS committee and hear their vision of how to bridge critical gaps in maternal health services.

Lauren reports that the Bangladeshi Government is making strong progress in strengthening the national maternal health system with approval given for 3000 fully qualified Midwives and plans to place four Midwives at each council sub-district.

However many remote villages are two days walk from regional towns that are equipped with birthing clinics and skilled midwives. With the traditional practice of delivering at home, many women are too far from qualified help if there are complications.

The IMS committee hope that training Village Health Workers will help address this critical need – especially if they are taught to identify common obstetric complications and are able to support women to travel to clinics for care.

Fulcrum Aid has agreed to support IMS in training 10 Village Health Workers. The training will take place in November and will cost $250 AUD per participant which covers certified training, training resources, travel and accommodation.

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Lauren Hodge is an implementation scientist, consulting with organisations to implement effective and sustainable community service programs. Her PhD research evaluated the implementation and sustainability of a parenting program delivered by family support workers in Indigenous organisations and communities in Queensland. Recently Lauren worked with World Health Organisation to develop resources for caregivers of children affected by Zika virus. Lauren volunteers with Fulcrum Aid to manage the partnership with IMS.