The first six years of a child's life are the most critical years for development, and appropriate health care, nutrition, stimulation, affection, and education are critical for healthy development. These early years also present a window of opportunity to mitigate any developmental concerns. With the right intervention, the child's health,…

Purpose: The level of mother's health knowledge influences not only her health, but also significantly predicts her children's health and medical care, and spending on medical care. This relationship has not yet been empirically assessed in India. The purpose of this paper is to measure the level of health knowledge of mothers in India and its…

The idea of school health is re-imagined with an emphasis on the need for children's health programmes to be rooted in an understanding of the social context. Such programmes must address health, nutrition and education in a comprehensive manner. The article details findings and insights emerging from a qualitative study conducted in municipal…

Training birth attendants (TBAs) to provide essential maternal and infant health care services during delivery and ongoing community care in developing countries. Despite inadequate evidence of relevance and effectiveness of TBA training programmes, there has been a policy shift since the 1990s in that many donor agencies funding TBA training…

The geographical area of this study is West Bengal--a constituent state (province) of India. The state government policy aims at administrative decentralization through Panchayats (or Village Councils) in rural areas. It is a 3-tier system, comprising a Gram Panchayat in every village, Panchayat Samity (block level), and Zilla Parishad (district…

Community-based initiatives have become a popular approach to addressing the health needs of underserved populations, in both low- and higher-income countries. This article presents findings from a study of female peer facilitators involved in a community-based maternal and newborn health intervention in urban slum areas of Mumbai. Using…

Asserts that the medical advances taken for granted in the United States are not available to citizens in many nations. Describes the Task Force for Child Survival and Development at the Carter Center in Georgia and its cooperative work with the World Health Organization. (CFR)

"Can You Hear Me? The Right of Young Children to Participate in Decisions Affecting Them" emphasises that participation enhances children's self-esteem and confidence, promotes their overall capacities, produces better outcomes, strengthens understanding of and commitment to democratic processes and protects children more effectively.…