Risks and opportunities of trained TBAs to improve maternal and neonatal outcomes in underserved low resource settings

A panel will review and discuss the many issues and potentials surrounding the use of trained Traditional Birth Attendants (TTBAs) in underserved, low resource settings, through five country examples in Liberia, Haiti, Guatemala, Honduras and Bolivia. As Panel Chair, this presenter will review the current literature and layout the questions and concerns of global health professionals, current consensus statements (and their lack), and the possibilities that these community workers represent in terms of extending formal health services into unreached community settings, and thus improve coverage and equity. Impact data from the presenters and the published literature will be reviewed and discussed.