WRA India Visits WRA Indonesia on Alert Villages Learning Trip
By Bridget McHenry
As Alliance Development and Capacity Building Advisors for India and Indonesia, Tamara Windau and I arrived in Jakarta a few days ago to help prepare for a visiting delegation from WRA India. Representatives from three states in India – Orissa, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh – are on their way to Indonesia to learn about the Desa Siaga, or “Alert Village”, program from the WRA National Alliance in Indonesia, Aliansi Pita Putih Indonesia (APPI). Over the next several days the delegation from India will meet with APPI leadership as well as representatives of the Ministry of Health to explore how the comprehensive village-level program for maternal health – Alert Villages – can be adapted to help expectant mothers in India better prepare for a healthy and safe pregnancy and childbirth. This fits in with WRA India’s national campaign to include birth preparedness and complication readiness into the antenatal care that all pregnant women in India are entitled to receive. What the delegation learns about this innovative approach in Indonesia will be incorporated into plans to develop similar programs in India. The members of APPI are excited to be able to share their successful participation in this program with their WRA colleagues and are busy getting all of the logistics in place for a successful learning visit. Stay tuned for more details or follow @WRAIndo on Twitter for live updates.
