Dakshata Initiative

Dakshata Initiative 

Gadchiroli faces a distinct issue of High Maternal Mortality, significantly higher than even the State average (136 in Gadchiroli vs 68 at the State level). In areas with challenging road connectivity due to dense forests, scattered populations in small pockets, and heavy rainfall, the District Administration enabled the Dakshata Initiative to find solutions to this multi-pronged problem. The Initiative focuses on capacity building for supply side frontline workers, routine tracking of pregnant women to enable safe deliveries, analytical exercises to examine the causal factors and bottlenecks to efficient health service delivery, and effective decentralization in decision making which allows village level contextual needs to be translated to planning interventions at the Block and District level.

Dakshata is an initiative under the National Health Mission to improve the quality of maternal and newborn care during the intra- and immediate
postpartum period, through providers who are competent and confident. The programme was launched in 2015. 

Tracking of pregnant mothers

At all levels, pregnant mothers were tracked; due to which all the Sub-centres and PHC ANMs displayed a list of pregnant mothers. This information was also communicated to other sub-centres in case of a different expected place of delivery. Causal data collected from all Institutes in the district revealed that the major causes of maternal death at the district were Severe Anaemia, Septicaemia and SCD Disease. After analysis, an Action Plan was prepared to address key bottlenecks. Preventable death causes like PIH, PPH and Sepsis were given priority. Phase-I of the Dakshata Initiative involved ‘Capacity Building’ to tackle supply side interventions for better health.

Capacity building of Asha Workers

Areas with language barriers were identified and it was ensured that the ASHA and traditional ‘Dais’ were able to communicate in the local language. The effective and strategic implementation of Dakshata training led to skill enhancement of frontline workers (ASHA and ANM) and MOs of the Health Department.