News and Events

New Developments in the Safe Delivery Incentives Programme

The Safe Delivery Incentives Programme (formerly known as the Maternity Incentives Scheme), was launched in 2005 to encourage more women to use the services of a trained health worker at childbirth and thus reduce maternal and newborn deaths. Incentives are provided to women to help them meet the costs of travelling to a health institution for delivery and to health workers who provide delivery services, at home or in a institution. The programme covers all government health institutions providing delivery services across the country, and has now been extended to also cover all central hospitals and most teaching and community hospitals, including:
 
Central hospitals
·         Maternity hospital, Kathmandu (approximately 18,000 deliveries a year)
·         Patan hospital, Lalitpur (approximately 8,000 deliveries a year)
·         Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu (approximately 6,000 deliveries a year). 
Teaching hospitals
·         Nepal Medical College, Kathmandu (approximately 900 deliveries a year)
·         Kathmandu Medical College, Kathmandu (approximately 900 deliveries a year) 
·         Bharatpur Medical College, Chitwan (approximately 2,400 deliveries a year)
·         Janaki Medical College, Dhanusa (approximately 2,200 deliveries a year) 
·         Birgunj Medical College, Birgunj (approximately 2,400 deliveries a year)
·         Manipal Medical College, Kaski (approximately 1,200 deliveries a year) 
·         Palpa Medical College, Palpa (approximately 600 deliveries a year)
·         Nepalgunj Medical College, Banke (approximately 5,000 deliveries a year). 
 
Community/ mission hospitals
·         Dhulikhel Community hospital, Kavre (approximately 2,400 deliveries a year)
·         Palpa Mission Hospital, Palpa (approximately 6,000 deliveries a year)
 

This will enable approximately 56,000 additional women to benefit from the programme each year and hopefully to encourage even more women to use safe delivery services.
 
A summary of a rapid assessment carried out on the programme in five districts is also available in the resources section of this website, under the research category. This shows that although there are still some issues to be ironed out, implementation of the programme is now running more smoothly and more women are benefiting from the incentives.
 

 

07/04/2008 Ashima Shrestha SSMP