Top Plans, Policies and Strategies of Nepal’s Safe Motherhood Programme

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Introduction

Maternal health remains a cornerstone of Nepal’s public health agenda. Despite steady declines in maternal mortality over the past two decades, challenges such as unequal access to skilled birth attendants, geographic barriers, and gaps in emergency obstetric care persist. To address these issues, the Government of Nepal—through the Ministry of Health & Population (MoHP) and its partners—has developed a suite of evidence‑based guidelines and strategic frameworks. These documents standardize practices from community outreach to facility‑based care, ensuring every expectant mother and newborn receives high‑quality, life‑saving services.

By consolidating best practices into clear, actionable protocols, the Safe Motherhood Programme empowers policymakers, program managers, and healthcare workers to:

Strengthen service delivery at all levels
Enhance monitoring and accountability
Foster community engagement through Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHVs)
Leverage digital technologies for timely referrals and clinical decision support

To ensure high‑quality, standardized care throughout pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period, Nepal’s Ministry of Health & Population (MoHP) and partners have issued a suite of seven core documents. Click any title below to download the official PDF:

National Safe Motherhood & Newborn Health Long‑Term Plan 2006–2017
Lays out eight strategic outputs (equity, service expansion, public–private partnership, decentralization, SBA training, info systems, supply management, financing) with detailed logframe and milestones.
➤ Download Plan (PDF) Family Welfare Division
Aama Surakshya Programme Operational Guidelines (2005 & 2012 revisions)
Defines free delivery care entitlements, transport incentives, facility‑level reimbursement flows, provider checklists, and monitoring tools—key for Aama’s cash‑incentive scheme.
➤ Download Aama Guidelines (PDF) Family Welfare Division
Monitoring Emergency Obstetric Care (EmOC) – WHO Handbook (2009)
Internationally recognized protocols for Basic & Comprehensive EmOC: signal functions, facility readiness checklists, and data‐tracking indicators.
➤ Download WHO EmOC Handbook (PDF) WHO Apps
Maternal & Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR) – WHO (2018)
Step‑by‑step guidance for investigating every maternal and neonatal death, root‑cause analysis, and action‐planning to prevent future deaths.
➤ Download MPDSR Guidelines (PDF) Iris
Female Community Health Volunteer (FCHV) Operational Guidelines
Outlines FCHV roles—community mobilization, home‑visit protocols, reporting forms, and linkages with health posts—for safe motherhood outreach.
➤ Browse FCHV Publications: Family Welfare Division
National Reproductive Health Strategy 2016–2021
Integrates safe motherhood into wider RH goals—adolescent services, family planning linkages, equity‑focused service delivery and program evaluation frameworks.
➤ Download RH Strategy: Family Welfare Division
Nepal e‑Health Strategy 2017
Defines standards for digital tools (mHealth apps, telemedicine, electronic records) to support maternal health—ANC reminders, remote consults, and data integration.
➤ Download: Ministry of Health and Population

Why These Matter

✔️ Ensure consistency in safe motherhood interventions nationwide
✔️ Leverage best practices—from community‑based FCHV outreach to facility‑based EmOC
✔️ Track progress via MPDSR and digital health dashboards
✔️ Align with national priorities in NHSP 2019