Meghalaya enlists faith leaders for maternal and child health through a Mind-Heart Dialogue approach

14 October 2026

Meghalaya has launched an initiative that uses the influence and trust of faith leaders to improve the uptake and continuity of maternal, newborn and child health services, especially in remote and underserved communities. The gaps addressed are early pregnancy registration, antenatal care, institutional delivery, postnatal care, exclusive breastfeeding and full immunization. Human-Centred Design consultations in all 12 districts of Meghalaya found that fear, trust, family influence, social norms, transport constraints and past care experiences shape health decisions. The approach is called Mind-Heart Dialogue, which links verified evidence with faith values, empathy and community action, and builds on earlier work on Behavioural Insights for Routine Immunization. The partners are UNICEF, Assam Don Bosco University, the Northeast SBC Alliance and the Multi-Faith Action Coordination Committee. Faith leaders and faith-based organisations were trained to promote antenatal care, birth preparedness, institutional delivery, postnatal care, nutrition and routine immunization through congregations, women's and youth groups, schools and community gatherings.