National Alliance for Maternal Health
and Human Rights (NAMHHR) is an alliance of grass root organization, institutions,
individuals, networks across the country coming together for the purpose of
promoting higher quality of maternal health and human rights issues
Since its inception in 2010, NAMHHR
is dedicated to attaining the highest quality of maternal health for the
marginalized in India. Several civil society organizations from seven states of
India got together on 20th January 2010 and agreed on the need to strengthen
maternal health as an issue of women’s human rights, given the sheer scale of
the problem at seventy to eighty thousand women dying each year in India of
preventable causes related to maternity. The Alliance has members from different
states of India, as well as expert advisors working with research, Right to
Food, public health, right to medicines and budget accountability.
The alliance recognizes that there is
an urgent need for women's organizations, health organizations and groups
working on law and human rights, and mass-based organizations to come together to
address the issue of maternal health. Strong rights-based strategies are needed
to build greater accountability for these thousands of preventable deaths among
women in India.
The
Alliance currently has 78 members from 15 states of India, as well as expert
advisors working with research, Right to Food, public health, right to
medicines and budget accountability.
NAMHHR has a steering committee
in place comprising of activists from different civil society organisations. This
committee is elected by a democratic process every 3 years and is responsible
for brainstorming of ideas and identifying issues of advocacy to be undertaken
by the network partners in their respective work areas or at the national level
at large. Presently the secretariat is
held by Centre for Health and Social Justice (CHSJ), New Delhi and is being directed by a 10 member Steering
Committee; who are keen to seek inputs and guidance from a specialized
Associate Body.
Key Issues Identified
1. Lack of available services at PHC and CHC level, and the refusal or denial of services to poor women
2. Discrimination and social exclusion and its impact on health access
3. Corruption in the health system and harassment of the poor
4. The current vertical programme approach focusing exclusively on childbirth has led to neglect of the continuum of care from pregnancy to the post-partum stage, and services for abortion or post-abortion complications.
5. Safety and continuum of care in Home Delivery
6. Nutrition and Right to Food
7. Accountability and surveillance systems to prevent maternal mortality
8. Quality of care as a concern
9. Grievance Redressal systems
10. Social Security for pregnancy and childbirth
11. Women in vulnerable situations and maternal health services
12. The weakening of health systems and persistent lack of skilled human resources, sufficient drugs or supplies
13. Considerable promotion of the private sector in health care provision at the policy level, without adequate regulation or evidence base.
14. Policy-level neglect of local knowledge, beliefs, practices and resources; combined with poor utilization of providers from AYUSH and local Dais, who are indeed more accessible and affordable for the rural poor in India.
Shared Perspective on Maternal Health
Maternal health and maternal mortality is an issue of social inequity, as it is faced by the most marginal communities and women in vulnerable situations. Maternal mortality is also the one-point indicator on the quality of primary health services, and poor health systems that fail to provide healthcare for low income communities. It is affected by many social determinants affecting women’s health including gender discrimination, social exclusion and discrimination , displacement, violence, conflict, and the lack of basic necessities such as nutrition, livelihoods, safe water and sanitation.
Our Mission
Statement
“Collective Advocacy Towards
Attaining Highest Quality of Maternal Health and Reproductive Health for the
Marginalized In India”
Our
values
- We stand for- gender equality, sexual and other diversity, social justice, transparency and accountability
- We do not tolerate – sexual harassment, discrimination, communal or any other form of violence
Strategic
Rights Based Approaches used by the NAMHHR
- Capacity building
- Communication and collaborating with alliance
- Studies and evidence building and
dissemination
- Policy Advocacy
- Legal Strategies
- Media Advocacy
- Legislative advocacy
- Budget tracking
Landmark
Strategic Actions:
•
Carried out studied: studies in alliance with partner
member organizations on :
–
Social exclusion
of tribal women in health services (Odisha and Madhya Pradesh)
–
Fact
finding of women deaths post sterilisation
in camps in Bilaspur , Chhatisgarh
–
Study on
maternity benefits (Godda district, Jharkhand)
–
Community
based Maternal Death Review in 4 states of 140 maternal deaths (Jharkhand,
Bihar, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh ).
•
Advocacy:
Keeps on raising the issues of maternal health and rights especially of
marginalized communities on various platforms- govt. and non govt. and
capturing the opportunity for advocacy as and when comes
–
Removal of
two child norm from Janani Suraksha Yojna (JSY), raising issues of maternal
health rights of tribal communities, advocacy for maternity benefits
–
Submittedjoint
stakeholders’ report to UNHRC on
Maternal and Reproductive Health for
India’s UPR III
–
Reviewed SDG
Goal 3 on health and well-being, for a Civil Society Shadow Report in
partnership with CommonHealth and Jan SwasthyaAbhiyan , contribution to larger
report on SDGs by Wada Na TodoAbhiyan
•
People’s Convention:
Created platform for various marginalized constituencies to come together and
collectively locate Maternal Health and Rights issues in their movement
•
Capacity
building of network members on Maternal Health and Reproductive Health and
Rights.
•
Cross
movement relationship building and Network strengthening in 5 states (Bihar,
Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh): aims at building
leadership, perspectives & skills of sub-national organisations working
with marginalized groups on key reproductive rights issues, generate evidence
on experience of women from marginalized communities with Sexual Reproductive
Health services in health facilities and to promote evidence based advocacy in
order to nurture a grassroots demand for accountability.
