SAHARA

Overview

SAHARA is an ambitious implementation program aimed at combining three novel evidence-informed interventions. It is aimed at promoting perinatal psychosocial wellbeing and nurturing care from pregnancy through the first three years of life in 9 districts of Madhya Pradesh. It aims to assess the feasibility, acceptability,and impact of an integrated intervention on maternal mental health and early childhood development and care (ECDC) when integrated into the health and care systems. The interventions will be delivered by frontline workers in the identified districts .

The SAHARA project includes three components:

1. Maternal Mental Health Awareness (MMHA) - A universal awareness session delivered by trained Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHAs) for all pregnant and postnatal women.

2. Thinking Healthy Program – Peer delivered (THPP) - A psychosocial intervention for women screening positive for perinatal depression, also delivered by ASHAs.

3. Lalan Palan - A parenting intervention based on the WHO- UNICEF Nurturing Care Framework, delivered by trained Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) using facilitated video viewing techniques to pregnant women, fathers and other caregivers of children under 3 years at Anganwadi Centres.

SAHARA builds on global evidence supporting Task-Sharing approaches and adapts resources from existing programs such as Thinking Healthy Program (THP) and Alana Palana. The initiative will aim to embed these approaches in the public health system and the , Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), to ensure contextual relevance and scalability.

Rationale

Maternal mental health and early childhood development remain critically underserved areas in India’s public health landscape, particularly in rural and resource-limited settings. Evidence shows that perinatal depression affects nearly 1 in 5 women in low- and middle-income countries, yet awareness, detection, and support services are extremely limited. Poor maternal mental health can significantly impact not just a mother’s wellbeing, but also her ability to provide responsive care—undermining her child’s early cognitive, emotional, and physical development.

In the first 1,000 days of a child’s life—from conception to age two—responsive sensitive care, early learning opportunities, and good nutrition play a vital role in shaping lifelong outcomes. However, fragmented service delivery, low awareness, and overburdened frontline workers are often not able to deliver key messages they are mandated to .

The SAHARA initiative is grounded in the need to bridge these gaps through an integrated, scalable, and community-based approach. By leveraging the reach of existing frontline workers—ASHAs and Anganwadi Workers—the program aims to deliver psychosocial support and parenting guidance where it’s most needed, and in a form that is accessible and acceptable to the community.

Partner/s

• National Health Mission, Govt. of MP

• Department of Women and Child Development,Govt. of MP

• Carnegie Hall, US