Resources
White Ribbon Alliance believes that health is a human right and to realize that right, people must be involved in shaping the policies and practices that make up a health system. We use several strategies and approaches to guide our work and along with partners have developed a variety of tools and resources that we hope you find helpful.
Below you will find links to resources on citizen-led accountability, midwifery, respectful maternity care, self-care and quality, equity & dignity.
CITIZEN-LED ACCOUNTABILITY
When citizens are directly involved, challenges are revealed and solutions are identified to accelerate progress. That is why advancing citizen engagement is at the heart of everything White Ribbon Alliance does. White Ribbon Alliance, International Planned Parenthood Federation, Save the Children and World Vision created the Citizen-Led Accountability Coalition to support citizens’ hearings to accelerate the delivery of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and commitments made under the UN Secretary General’s initiative, Every Woman Every Child. More than 200 hearings have been held in over 20 countries and resulting recommendations have been shared with national political leaders and submitted as feedback for the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health.
Resources
- Report: Opportunities for Citizen-Inclusive Accountability for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health
- WRA Pakistan: Building Citizen-Led Campaigns for Better Maternal Care
- Social Accountability for Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health in Tanzania
- Final Meeting Report: Improving Maternal Health Measurement Capacity and Use: Nairobi, Kenya – 2018
- Find a variety of citizens’ voices and related videos on the Citizens’ Post Playlist of WRA’s YouTube Channel.
WOMEN-CENTERED CARE
When empowered with knowledge and confidence, women make the best health decisions for themselves and their families. Self-care is an approach that realizes our strategy to educate and empower people about health and rights and ultimately deliver new or improved policies and practices that are driven by women’s needs.
Resources:
- Self-Care Policy Brief provides a roadmap for donors, advocates, policy-makers and practitioners to advocate for self-care at the local, national and global level. Download: Spanish
- Self-Care Policy Paper Executive Summary. Download: Spanish
- Self-Care Country-Level Campaign Summary. Download: Spanish
- Self-Care Communication Toolkit: A shareable slide deck that includes information and examples of self-care for maternal and newborn health. Download: Spanish
- Self-Care Model and Impact Infographic. Download: Spanish. Download to Print: English, Spanish
- Every Woman Every Child Self-Care Case Study
- Self-Care: Frequently Asked Questions
- Find a variety of self-care related videos on the Self-Care Playlist of WRA’s YouTube Channel
- Self-Care toolkit for advocates
- Self-Care toolkit for decision makers
- Self-Care toolkit for health professionals
- Self-Care toolkit for program implementers
QUALITY, EQUITY, DIGNITY
While the past two decades have been marked by substantive progress in reducing maternal and child deaths, progress has often been slow to reach those who need it most. Provision of quality care is uneven, often failing to respect the rights and dignity of those who seek it. All women and newborns deserve quality, respectful care. Midwifery and Respectful Maternity Care are vital to the solution.
Midwifery
White Ribbon Alliance is pushing for improvements in midwives’ pay and working conditions, changing the public’s perception of their work and supporting midwives around the world to advocate for their profession.
Resources
- Midwives’ Voices, Midwives Realities: Findings from a Global Consultation on Providing Quality Midwifery Care
- The State of the World’s Midwifery 2014 Report
- Advocacy Approaches to Promote Midwives and the Profession of Midwifery
- Be in Science-Choose Midwifery: English Brochure; Kiswahili Brochure
- Happy Midwives for Happy and Healthy Mothers: English Brochure-Malawi
- Case Study: Supporting Midwives, Supporting Mothers – WRA Malawi in Action
- Summary of a Count of Bedside Midwives in Malawi: A WRA Malawi Report
- Investing in Midwifery in Malawi: Delivering on Commitments – a WRA Malawi Policy Brief
- Find a variety of midwifery-themed interviews and films at the Midwives’ Voices and the Young Midwifery Leaders playlists of WRA’s YouTube Channel
Respectful Maternity Care
In 2011, WRA launched a global campaign to promote a clear standard for respectful maternity care, rooted in international human rights. Working with global organizations, WRA produced the ground-breaking Respectful Maternity Care Charter, which has been translated into eight languages and continues to raise awareness and create policy change worldwide.
Resources
- Respectful Maternity Care Charter: The Universal Rights of Childbearing Women
- A Guide for Advocating for Respectful Maternity Care: English
- Respectful Maternity Care and the Media: A Guide for NGOs and Advocates: English; Spanish
- Respectful Maternity Care Impact Brief
- Office of the High Commissioner Report
- RMC Wiki Database
- Policy Brief: Pulling Back the Curtain on D&A: English; French
- Health Workers’ Training Guide
- 5 Approaches to RMC
- Universal Rights of Childbearing Women Charter: English; Arabic; French; Spanish
- Respectful Maternity Care Poster: English; Arabic; Croatian; French; Greek; Hindi; Italian; Spanish
- Respectful Maternity Care Brochure: English; Arabic; French; Spanish
- Brief: Disrespect & Abuse in Childbirth and Respectful Maternity Care: English; Spanish
- Brief: RMC and Human Resources for Health: English, Spanish
- Brief: Respectful Maternity Care & Social Accountability: English; Spanish
- Mother-Baby Friendly Birthing Facilities – FIGO Guidelines
- Information Brief: Respectful Maternity Care in Pakistan
- Government of India Posters: Respectful Maternity Care; Birth Companion During Childbirth
- Find a variety of RMC-themed videos at the RMC playlist of WRA’s YouTube Channel
- Act Now to End Teenage Pregnancy: A Progress Report from WRA Uganda
- Act Now to Save Mothers: An Impact Report from WRA Uganda
- Preventing Maternal and Newborn Deaths: Prioritizing Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care in Tanzania
- Linking Moms Through Mobile: Improving Quality of Care in India – English
- Linking Moms Through Mobile: Improving Quality of Care in India – Hindi
- Keeping Somali Moms Healthy in Sweden