Turning the Gaze from Survive to Thrive for Children in India: Learnings from Two Case Studies

Despite significant efforts and progress made in newborn care programs in India, implementation gaps persist across the continuum of care. The present case studies of two districts in Himachal Pradesh revealed that pathways of care were often fragmented with inconsistent linkages between facility and community due to poor documentation, lack of tiered referral, health system weaknesses, low utilization of primary level institutions, and inadequate post-natal home visits by Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs). Involvement of healthcare providers (HCPs) and frontline health workers (FHWs) was low and uneven in generating awareness across the districts with limited participation in supporting care in the community. Ensuring functionality of health centers and first-level care facilities; strengthening referral systems; adequate/trained human resources; strengthening routine health management systems, discharge processes and community-based care with adequate integration with facilities are necessary in closing access gaps.