2019 Annual Report (5)

ONE HEART WORLDWIDE | oneheartworld-wide.org
Schooner Grants to date: 2018 Cynthia Discretionary Grant - $25,000
Funding Recommendation: 2-year grant, amount contingent on Letter of Intent
We visited Baireni birthing center situated in Galchhi rural municipality, Dhading district. It took close to three hours by
paved road to get there. The total population of this rural municipality is 14,827 and the total expected live births is 342.
4th ANC as per protocol (4th, 6th, 8th & 9th month of pregnancy visit) is 183 and institutional delivery (FY 2018/19) is
149.This center acts as an emergency referral center to cases referred from other health centers including those from the
district hospital because of its proximity to Kathmandu. The district hospital referred 37 maternal cases in the last fiscal
year. OHW has supported the renovation of the birthing center, provided equipment support and training to health workers.
The Health Center also provides FCHV and RUSG services.
One Heart Worldwide has noteworthy impact with a relatively small budget, and have created a model that is easily
duplicated. Between 1999 and 2009, One H.E.A.R.T. piloted a unique community-based healthcare delivery model in
Tibet. Over these ten years, One H.E.A.R.T. successfully developed what is today called the Network of Safety model, a
culturally sensitive maternal and newborn program from the village level through the secondary and tertiary healthcare
facilities. One H.E.A.R.T. was able to decrease unattended home births from 85% to 20%, mostly by ensuring the
presence of a Skilled Birth Attendant at delivery. In 2008, in the two counties where One H.E.A.R.T was working, the
Lhasa Prefecture Health Bureau reported no maternal deaths and newborn death rates dropped from 10% to 3%. In 2009,
One H.E.A.R.T. stepped out of Tibet and turned over their program to the local Tibetan team, who registered themselves
as a non-governmental organization. To this day, their Tibetan team successfully continues their work with local resources.
The long-term sustainability and demonstrated success of the Network of Safety model led Arlene to expand the
operations to other sites in need.
In 2010, One H.E.A.R.T. expanded to a global scale as One Heart World-Wide (OHW), a 501(c)3 organization providing
on-the-ground training in maternal and neonatal health, and moved its operations to Nepal. In collaboration with a team of
international experts in maternal and neonatal health, Arlene refined the unique One H.E.A.R.T. program into a simple,
effective, replicable and sustainable model, the Network of Safety. By the end of 2017 the maternal and neonatal mortality
were significantly reduced in Baglung and Dolpa, their two pilot districts in Nepal. In 2017, Dolpa reported zero maternal
deaths, and Baglung reported a reduction of over 90% in maternal and neonatal mortality since the program began in
2010. OHW is implementing its program in thirteen program sites in Nepal, and planning to continue adding another two to
four districts each year. Today, OHW has served a population of over 2.6 million people and 70,000 pregnancies. In
addition, over the last 5 years, OHW has successfully shared the Network of Safety with several other organizations
around the world. They have provided technical assistance to programs in China, Ecuador, Liberia, Mexico and Peru.
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