{"id":534,"date":"2014-04-02T00:00:22","date_gmt":"2014-04-02T00:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mencare.org\/?p=534"},"modified":"2014-04-02T00:00:22","modified_gmt":"2014-04-02T00:00:22","slug":"engaging-men-as-male-health-activists-in-improving-women-and-childrens-access-to-health-services-in-rural-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mencare.org\/pt\/engaging-men-as-male-health-activists-in-improving-women-and-childrens-access-to-health-services-in-rural-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Envolvendo os homens como ativistas da sa\u00fade masculina na melhoria do acesso de mulheres e crian\u00e7as aos servi\u00e7os de sa\u00fade na \u00cdndia rural"},"content":{"rendered":"

Authored by our colleagues Concern Worldwide<\/em><\/p>\n

\"ALate in the term of her fourth pregnancy, Sini was anemic and felt very weak. Around this time, the villagers chose Mangal as a Male Health Activist for Sini\u2019s village in India\u2019s Keonjhar District, Odisha under the program<\/a> sponsored by Concern Worldwide\u2019s Innovations for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health <\/a><\/em>and our in-country partners, Women\u2019s Organization for Socio-Cultural Awareness<\/a>. In light of Sini\u2019s condition, Mangal counseled Sini\u2019s husband, Kata, about the importance of having the baby in a health facility attended by a skilled birth attendant, but Kata vehemently refused. As is often the case in Keonjhar, men decide about household finances and spending on health care. This means that even if women want to seek care during pregnancy and childbirth, or for their newborn, their husbands can decide against it. The Male Health Activists are a cadre of rural health workers and health advocates who talk directly to husbands and fathers to help involve men in making positive decisions about the health care for mothers and newborns.<\/p>\n

When Sini went into labor, villagers informed the female community health worker, and Mangal, the Male Health Activist. While the female community health worker stayed with Sini, Mangal immediately arranged for a vehicle to transport Sini to the nearest health clinic, where the doctor promptly referred her to the district hospital. Upon arrival at the hospital, Sini was desperately in need of blood and Mangal arranged for blood to arrive from the nearest blood bank. The very next day, Sini gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Prior to her discharge, while Sini was at the hospital under the doctor\u2019s care and observation, her husband, Kata, realized that the cause of death for their previous babies was due to improper care during pregnancy and delivery by unskilled birth attendants.<\/p>\n

As Kata shared, \u201cI am a lay man and never tried to understand the impact of neglecting the mother during pregnancy and delivery, for which we lost the babies. Mangal [the Male Health Activist] gave a ray of hope for me and now I have a happy family and a healthy child.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Concern\u2019s evaluation<\/a> of the Male Health Activists program found that male community health workers contributed to reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health by:<\/p>\n