An Indonesian government maternal and child health program, known as Bidan di Desa or Village Midwife, launched in 1989 with financing from the World Bank and UNICEF in response to a maternal mortality ratio then above 400 deaths per 100,000 live births and a neonatal mortality rate of 32 per 1,000 live births. The program's goal was to station a trained midwife and a village birth center, called a polindes, in every village, moving maternal care beyond the community health centers and health posts that had previously tried, with limited reach, to supplant the widespread use of untrained traditional birth attendants known as dukun. More than 50,000 midwives were trained and posted under the program, and by 1997 midwives had been placed in 54,000 of Indonesia's roughly 67,000 villages, tasked with attending births and providing antenatal and postnatal care, health promotion and infant health services.
Facts
Program StatusStill operating as of the 2007 Immpact evaluation, though whether the resources invested had actually reduced maternal deaths was unclear at that point 1 Sponsoring BodyGovernment of Indonesia 1 Target PopulationPregnant women and mothers in Indonesian villages, though benefit skewed heavily toward wealthier households: 76 percent of the richest fifth delivered with a trained midwife or doctor versus 9 percent of the poorest fifth 1 Health GoalReduce maternal death by assigning a resident midwife to each village in the country 1 Geographic ScopeIndonesia, nationwide, with a resident midwife assigned to each village 1 Measured Results54,000 midwives trained and deployed by 1996, with virtually all villages assigned their own midwife, though a 2005 Immpact evaluation in two Java districts found only 29 percent of villages still had a resident midwife because many midwives preferred to live in urban areas 1 Classification
Program KindHealth Education Program 1 Connections
Associated With
Delivers Practice
Entity-backed identity for the program-kind enum value this public health program already carries, resolved to a health practice by an explicit value-to-entity map (phase 3 bucket conversion, docs\design_entity_backed_browse_buckets_20260928.md). The program-kind fact itself stays on the program unchanged.
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: Asia, found in there.
Sources
1. PRB/Immpact: Indonesia, Resident Midwives Help Avert Maternal Deaths When Financial Barriers Are Removed (2007)
Population Reference Bureau (PRB), in partnership with ImmpactBackground section, opening sentence
In 1989, the government of Indonesia launched the Midwife in the Village programme.
Background section, opening sentence, sponsor clause
In 1989, the government of Indonesia launched the Midwife in the Village programme.
Background section, second sentence
Its purpose was to reduce maternal death by assigning a resident midwife to each village in the country.
Background section, deployment-scale sentence
By 1996, 54,000 midwives had been trained and deployed and virtually all villages had their own assigned midwife.
Findings section, urban-coverage-gap sentence
Since many midwives prefer to live in urban areas, overall, only 29 percent of villages have a resident midwife.
Findings section, rich-poor gap sentence
While 76 percent of the richest fifth of society gave birth with a trained midwife or doctor, only 9 percent of the poorest did so.
Background section, closing caveat sentence
But it is unclear whether the substantial resources invested resulted in fewer maternal deaths.
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