India

Improving women’s maternal health and literacy are critical to building stronger families and communities in India. Yet today, twice as many women as men are illiterate, and girls are still less likely than boys to attend primary school in the country. More than 100,000 Indian women die in pregnancy and childbirth each year. And, over five million children and adults are living with HIV/AIDS in India.

Since 1987, CEDPA has worked hand-in-hand with women’s leaders, community organizations and government ministries in India to give women and youth the tools to live healthier lives. CEDPA is well known in India for its technical leadership, community-based reproductive and child health programs, leadership training and innovative youth programs.

Through the Better Life Options program, CEDPA has worked with girls, boys and their parents to breakdown gender stereotypes and increase support for girls’ education for almost two decades. The program also builds practical life skills like literacy and vocational training, family life education and leadership training to increase self-esteem, confidence and self-worth. CEDPA has partnered with over 260 local organizations in 11 states to reach over 150,000 adolescent girls and boys. And, we have developed the skills of more than 3,000 facilitators from these organizations to work with youth.

CEDPA/India helped form the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood India (WRAI) in 1999 to bring critical attention and action to the need to make motherhood safer. To date, the White Ribbon Alliance’s grassroots and media campaigns have reached hundreds of millions throughout India with messages on preventing maternal deaths. Recent activities included developing evidence-based protocols with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for health care providers to improve care during pregnancy, delivery and in the postpartum period. And, information kits were produced in English, Hindi, Oriya, and Bangla for elected officials and the media to develop more safe motherhood champions. As the secretariat for the alliance, CEDPA/India provides technical assistance and leads advocacy and communications strategies.

CEDPA/India strengthens reproductive health in India through several programs. CEDPA has provided technical assistance to the Innovations in Family Planning Services project, training and empowering over 16,000 female community workers to provide counseling, contraceptive services and maternal and child health information in India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh. To expand contraceptive choice, CEDPA produced booklets that helped health providers introduce methods such as injectables, intra-uterine devices, and the standard days method into their existing programs.

With funding from the World Bank and International Finance Corporation, CEDPA/India works with PowerLinks Transmission Limited to provide workplace training addressing HIV, malaria and TB, as well as safety for the transmission line workforce. This workforce is made up of many migrant workers, who have limited access to HIV testing, information and services—increasing their risks for spreading the disease.

CEDPA/India’s UDAAN: Towards a Better Future program strengthens AIDS education in Jharkhand State by providing technical assistance and training for master trainers and school teachers. It adds comprehensive life-skills curriculum into the existing AIDS education program for schoolchildren.

In addition to the many thousands of participants in our country-level programs in India, CEDPA’s global training workshops have included hundreds of Indian women and men who are now running organizations, working in government ministries and providing leadership in communities throughout the country.