Shillong, Oct 14: Meghalaya is looking to faith leaders and religious institutions to address gaps in maternal, newborn and child healthcare, using their community influence to encourage families to seek timely medical care.
A two-day capacity-building workshop on “Harnessing the Power of Faith for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health” was held at Taraghar, State Guest House, Shillong, on October 13 and 14, bringing together religious leaders, government health officials, frontline workers and development partners.
The initiative seeks to strengthen community engagement and improve the uptake of essential health services, particularly among remote, underserved and vulnerable communities.
The workshop was attended by the Director of Health Services (MCH&FW), state nodal officers for maternal health, child health and immunisation, and representatives of several religious institutions, including the Catholic Archdiocese, KJP Assembly, Seng Khasi, Muslim Union, Ramakrishna Mission, Buddhist Association, Garo Baptist Convention, Presbyterian Church of India and other Christian denominations and faith groups. Members of the Shillong All Faith Forum also participated.
Despite improvements in healthcare delivery, Meghalaya continues to face gaps in early pregnancy registration, antenatal care, institutional deliveries, postnatal care, exclusive breastfeeding and full immunisation.
Human-Centred Design consultations conducted across all 12 districts have highlighted how fear, trust, family influence, social norms, transport difficulties and previous experiences with healthcare can shape decisions about seeking medical care.
The workshop introduced the Mind-Heart Dialogue (MHD) approach, which combines scientific evidence with faith values, empathy and community experiences to encourage positive health-seeking behaviour.
Building on the state’s experience with Behavioural Insights for Routine Immunisation, the initiative aims to equip faith leaders and faith-based organisations to promote early antenatal check-ups, birth preparedness, institutional deliveries, postnatal care, breastfeeding, nutrition and routine immunisation.
Religious institutions are being encouraged to use their existing platforms, including congregations, women’s and youth groups, schools and community gatherings, to address misconceptions, support informed family decisions and connect vulnerable households with appropriate health services.
The programme also drew on collaboration involving UNICEF, Assam Don Bosco University and the Northeast SBC Alliance, along with wider multi-faith engagement through the Multi-Faith Action Coordination Committee.
The two-day workshop included practical exercises on identifying community barriers, role-playing, inclusion and action planning.
A key outcome will be the preparation of institution-specific 90-day action plans, outlining priority health behaviours, target groups, communication platforms, activities, referral mechanisms and measurable indicators.
The learning from the workshop will feed into the development and implementation of a Human-Centred Design roadmap for maternal, newborn and child health. The aim is to integrate community-centred approaches into government planning, capacity-building programmes and social and behaviour change initiatives.
The initiative also seeks to strengthen coordination between faith institutions and government health systems, including the National Health Mission and the State Health Systems Resource Centre.
A proposed Meghalaya Faith and MNCH Community of Practice is expected to provide a platform for continued coordination, peer learning and documentation of community-level interventions.
Also Read: Tobacco use causes nearly 8,000 preventable deaths annually in Meghalaya: NTCP Official
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