Lifesaving Interventions: The Power of Local Healthcare Workers on the Global Scale

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In 1986, Drs. Abhay and Rani Bang traveled to a remote area in the state of Maharashtra in India to work on reducing child mortality. At the time, they measured 121 infant deaths in every 1,000 children born. Many factors contributed to the high rate of child mortality in the region, but pneumonia and newborn deaths were consistently the top two one causes of death in children. Over the next 15 years, Abhay and Rani Bang created two healthcare interventions to address death by pneumonia in children under 5  and newborn deaths in the region. Both studies utilized the influence of community health workers. Join Dr. Abhay Bang as he discusses the creation of these two interventions, the subsequent creation of a national program in India, and their impact on the global health landscape.

ABOUT Abhay and Rani Bang

After receiving their MPH degrees from the Bloomberg School in 1984, the Bangs founded the Society for Education, Action and Research on Community Health (SEARCH (www.searchforhealth.ngo)), an organization working in the remote and tribal district of Gadchiroli, Maharashtra State, India. During their careers, the Bangs have helped foster a renaissance in community-based primary health care. Thanks in part to their efforts, community-based primary health care is now entering into the mainstream of global health and is now considered essential for achieving the Millennium Development Goals for health. Over the years the Bangs have received seventy awards and honors. In 2005, Time magazine named them Global Health Heroes. In 2006 they received the MacArthur Foundation International Award for creative social work. They were the first recipient of the Johns Hopkins International Alumni Award (2013)

 Event Date
Thursday, June 29, 2023
Start Time: 10:00am EDT
End Time: 10:45am EDT

 Contact
Bloomberg School of Public Health
Elizabeth Rigsbee
9374086063
erigsbee@jhu.edu

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