A safer start in life

ETP and UNICEF have been working together since 2014 to help children and young people living in tea communities in Assam, India – a state producing over a fifth of the world’s tea, but where nearly 30% of people live in what the World Bank defines as poverty.

Our joint programme, Improving Lives, aims to support women, children and families living on 205 of Assam’s tea estates by addressing daily hardships and the wider systems that impact them. A key focus area of the first two phases of the programme has been connecting more than 120,000 pregnant women and children under five with better health services.

Meet Punam and Noren

Punam and Noren live on Halmari Tea Estate with their two girls. They were once parents to a boy – but tragically, he died just a few hours after he was born at home in 2019.

When Punam became pregnant with her second daughter Aniksha in 2019, she received support from the Improving Lives Programme. First, she was approached by her estate’s Mothers’ Group. Each of the 205 tea estates involved in the programme now has one, and each has been trained in maternal, infant, and young child nutrition.

Next, she was visited by Swarna Medhi, a local accredited social health activist. Swarna went on to monitor Punam’s entire pregnancy. She provided a tetanus vaccination, iron and folic acid supplements, a guidance manual to keep her and her baby safe, and encouragement to join the regular village health and nutrition days.

Support when needed most

During her third trimester, Swarna also helped Punam prepare for birth and understand how to attend an institutional delivery in a public hospital.

When she eventually went into labour, Punam took Swarna’s advice and travelled to Assam Medical College Hospital in Dibrugarh with Noren. There, doctors safely delivered Aniksha.

Giving birth at a public health facility provided other benefits, too. Punam was given an INR 1,400 cash assistance payment from Janani Suraksha Yojana, the National Health Mission’s Safe Motherhood scheme, and baby Aniksha has now received her full course of vaccinations.

After returning home, Swarna visited the family again to check the mother and child’s health and advise on newborn care and breastfeeding.

Advocating for change and safe practices

Punam and Noren are now strong proponents of safe motherhood practices in their community.

“After facing the tragedy of losing my second child, and following counselling from Swarna on antenatal and postnatal care, Noren and I went for an institutional delivery,” Punam told us.

“Now, I’m happy to become a mother again. I will definitely share my story with friends to promote safe motherhood.”

Noren is doing the same. “Unfortunately, my wife didn’t receive much care during her second pregnancy, as I wasn’t much aware,” he admits. “I’m now encouraging my friends to take good care of their pregnant wives and go for institutional delivery.”

He claims to have already educated his friend Rubul about safe motherhood and birth practices. “Now, Rubul is a happy father of a healthy baby delivered at a government hospital.”

Next steps

Improving Lives’ influence does not stop at the delivery room, either. Other goals of the programme include:

• ensuring women workers have equal employment opportunities and maternity benefits;
• that mothers are able to breastfeed in safe spaces without being penalised for taking time out from work, and;
• that parents have better access to quality childcare facilities.

With UNICEF and ETP’s partnership working in 25% of tea estates in Assam, we have an incredible opportunity to improve life for thousands of women and children, and influence a lasting cultural change across the tea sector.