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AND HUMAN RIGHTS ] ols tab to change the formatting MATERNAL HEALTH E-Newsletter Issue-6 (February-May 2012)
Upcoming Events
2nd-3rdJune12, Chennai: Dead Women Talking jointly organized by CHAD, CM C, Vellore, CommonHealth and Sama to share the experience of documenting cases of maternal mortality from different parts of the country and develop a comprehensive M DR tool. 28July12,Ranchi: NAM HHR Advocacy Planning meeting for Jharkhand regarding Godda M aternal Deaths NAMHHR Advocacy S eminar on M aternal Death Reviews (possible dates 8th-9th October12) NAMHHR Capacity-building workshop on Documenting M aternal Deaths within a rights framework in collaboration with Commonhealth (Possible dates on 10th -14th October12)

Right to Maternal Nutriti on and Maternity Benefits i. NAMHHR study on IGMSY scheme: NAMHHR partners conducted a study on the Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana (IGMSY) p iloted by the Central Govern ment in selected districts of West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh. The scheme aims at providing maternit y benefits to wo men... What did the women excluded fro m the maternity benefit have to say? [Click this link http://www.scribd.com/doc/98955236/Stories-of-Excluded-Women to read what these excluded women have to share about motherhood. By Chris Mary Kurian] ii. NAM HHR member SAHAYOG was
invited to make a presentation on the maternity benefit scheme-Indira Gandhi M atritva Sahyog Yojana (IGM SY) in a Convention on Childrens Right to Food, , held in Bhopal on 20-22 January 2012, jointly organised by the Working Group for Children under Six of the

Right to Food campaign and the Jan Swasthya Abhiyan. (http://phmindia.org/).

Recommendati ons and Endorsements 1. 2. NAMHHR sent its recommendations on the National Food Security Bill to the Parliamentary Standing Co mmittee on Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution on 17th February 2012 NAMHHR has sent recommendations to the Standing Committee on Personnel and Public Grievances with regard to the draft of the National Grievance Redressal Bill. As a follo w up of this, NAMHHR was invited to present oral evidence before the Standing Co mmittee on 12th March 2012. NAMHHR SC and Health Watch Foru m UP endorsed a letter drafted by Health and Human Rights Activists on 14th May 2012 addressed to the PMO highlighting concerns related to the treatment and care of rape victims . NAMHHR members endorsed a letter to the Prime Min ister on 24th May 2012 which express concerns on Universal Health Care as cited in the recent report of the Planning Commission s Steering Committee on Health (PC-SCH) fo r the 12th Five Year Plan. Signatories of the letter felt that PC-SCH report significantly differed fro m the reco mmendations made by the HLEG. NAMHHR supported its member Madhuri Krishnaswamy of Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan in Barwan i, Madhya Pradesh. Madhuri was given a show-cause notice for extern ment (Zila Badar). Letters to Madhya Pradesh Chief Min ister and other officials on 25th May 2012 were sent in her support. As the work of JADS with NREGA has been a significant achievement, Ms. Jashodhara Dasgupta also sent a letter on behalf of NAMHHR to Shri Jairam Ramesh, Hon. Union Minister for Rural Develop ment, Water and Sanitation to take up the matter with the concerned authorities in MP.

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NAMHHR E- Newsletter Issue-6(February-May 2012)

Partner Updates 1. NAMHHR Partner, Jan Sahas organized a National Public Hearing on Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers and their Children in India as part of the Garima Abhiyan, at New Delhi ,28th March12 wh ich was

NAMHHR organized the following meetings

1. NAMHHR Steering Co mmittee on 11th February (via Conference call) and full meeting on 12 May 2012 2.. NAMHHR Partner, All India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch, New Delhi organized a rally called Chalo Parliament, as part of SC/ST Budget Adhikar Andolan at Jantar Mantar, New Delh i, 9 May 2012, which was .

3. NAMHR Partners SAHA YOG and HealthWatch Forum, Uttar Pradesh celebrated the occasion of International Day of Action for Wo mens Health on 28th May 2012 by presenting the data collected by MSAM women 4. NAMHHR member, Ms Devika Biswas (of HealthWatch Forum, Bihar) filed a PIL in the Supreme Court on poor quality sterilizations performed on rural women in Bihar. NAMHHR was identified in the prayer as an independent organization that could carry out the fact finding. 5. NAMHHR partners SODA, Prerna Bharti, ASHA and SAHA YOG, Uttar Pradesh (though its partner Gramonnati Sansthan) conducted a s tudy on the IGMSY scheme in four sites to investigate the vulnerable situation of women excluded from the benefit because they have more than two children. 6. NAMHHR partner CHSJ as the Secretariat of a Nat ional Coalition against two child norm organised a meeting on 9th April 2012 to discuss the issue of Quality of Care of Sterilization Services and its close relationship with coercive population control measures like two child-norm and its consequences on the rights of marginalized population. 7. NAMHHR Partner CHETNA organised a meeting with the Dais (Trad itional Birth Attendants), CBOs and print media on 28th May 2012. Th irty two TBAs and members of the TBA association fro m 6 tribal and 5 non-tribal districts participated in this event. 8. NAMHHR individual member, Ms Jaya Velan kar was nominated for a regional training on the Universal Periodic Rev iew Process of the Human Rights Council, to be held in Fiji fro m 11-14 June 2012. New Resources on Maternal Health 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

2. IGMSY Draft Report Sharing and Advisory Group Meeting on 30-31st March 3. NAMHHR Sub-Co mmittee Planning of Advocacy event on Maternal Deaths meeting on 19 April 2012 (via Conference Call) and full meeting on 11 May 2012

Countdown 2015 report: Accountability for Maternal, Newborn & Child Survival: An update on progress in priority countries- http://countdown2015mnch.org/ media -centre/2012/accountability-update Global Health Watch Report(2012), http://www.ghwatch.org/node/547 Medecins Sans Frontieres: Maternal Death- the avoidable crisis: http://www.msf.o rg/msf/articles/2012/03/ maternaldeath-the-avoidable-crisis.cfm State of the Worlds Mothers 2012 Nutrition in the first 1000 days:http://www.savethechildren.org/atf/cf/%7B9def2ebe10ae-432c-9bd0- df91d2eba74a%7D/state-of-the-worlds-mothers-report-2012-final.pdf Diabetes: A Missing Link to Achieving Sexual & Rep roductive Health in The Asia-Pacific www.arrow.org.my/publications/Diabetes_A_Missing_Link.p df (hard copies are available on request) Safe Abortion: Technical and Policy Gu idance for Health Systems, http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/unsafe_abortion/9789241548434/en/index.ht ml

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