Ecuador Indigenous Midwives
Alongside Hope Development Project
The CISAHW project, funded by PWRDF, will train Kichwa-speaking midwives to improve maternal and child health and minimize health inequality gaps in the rural Indigenous communities of Cotacachi (in the Highlands of Imbabura Province in Ecuador) by reinforcing community ancestral health practices. The program will offer mentoring opportunities for young midwives, who will accompany veteran midwives in community visits, prenatal and postnatal care, and culturally affirming safe birth practices. These Indigenous communities face historical inequalities that limit their access to culturally appropriate health services. Women are particularly vulnerable due to gender discrimination and violence. Furthermore, traditional home birth practices are disappearing due to an absorption into the Western health care system, which often harbors racism at its core.
