One Heart Worldwide works to make pregnancy and childbirth safer for mothers and their newborns in rural Nepal. The organisation works hand in hand with local government authorities and communities to identify the specific needs, gaps and challenges in every district. Together, they co-invest in and renovate birth centres, equip them properly, train staff and community workers, and reach out to pregnant women and families to increase the likelihood of their seeking prenatal care and delivering their babies safely in a facility. One Heart Worldwide’s efforts have made over 2 million pregnancies and deliveries safer since 2010.

However, when a new mother and her baby return home from a birth centre or facility, their journey has only just begun. Especially during the first critical weeks after birth, many mothers will need support from loved ones or other caregivers to ensure that they and their babies are safe and well-nurtured, and that any warning signs of complications – for example an infected wound, or a baby showing signs of jaundice - are recognised and acted upon swiftly

 

 

In rural parts of Nepal, where four in ten people live further than 30 minutes from the nearest health facility, the presence of a knowledgeable family caregiver can be the difference between life and death. And yet, with medical staff overburdened and short on time, family members do not always receive clear, actionable information that prepares them for this responsibility. 

To fill this gap and provide family caregivers with the necessary guidance and training , One Heart Worldwide teamed up with Noora Health. 

Through its “Care Companion Program” (CCP) Noora Health works with existing public health systems and local partners to equip family caregivers with the critical skills they need to better care for their loved ones as they heal, thus preventing unnecessary complications and fatalities. Working in India, Bangladesh and Indonesia, Noora Health covers a range of health issues such as maternal and newborn health, cardiac care or non-communicable diseases. It has served more than 58 million patients and caregivers to date, delivering trainings to 72,000 people every day. Its work has a measurable, life-saving impact: a 2023 study found that the Companion Care Program for maternal and newborn health had led to an 18% reduction in the risk of newborn death within the first month of birth.

 

 

For One Heart Worldwide, partnering with Noora Health was a natural fit: “Our mission to improve maternal and child health outcomes in Nepal, and equipping caregivers with the necessary skills and knowledge to support their loved ones is a key success factor in this. Noora Health’s expertise and experience are perfectly complementary to ours, and our mission and values align as well,” says Dr. Sibylle Kristensen, co-CEO of One Heart Worldwide. 

In early 2024, Noora Health was ready to expand its work to Nepal. All it needed was the right partner. “When we expanded beyond India, first to Bangladesh and then Indonesia, we built teams on the ground to implement the programme in close partnership with local authorities”, explains Varun Rangarajan, Head of Global Scale and Partnerships of Noora Health. “This approach has worked very well in terms of quality and impact, but it may not be sustainable in terms of investment of resources. For our work to scale durably, we need to work with local partners whose goals and values align with ours and who have the right experience to implement and take forward the model in the local context. In One Heart Worldwide, we found exactly that.”

In September 2024, the two organisations officially announced their partnership to introduce and implement the Care Companion Program (CCP) in Nepal. After a pilot in three hospitals, the programme was rapidly expanded to reach 11 health facilities across three provinces. 

 

 

By the end of 2025, Noora Health and One Heart Worldwide teams had trained 182 health workers at these facilities to deliver critical skills around maternal and newborn health to over 31,000 new parents, patients, and caregivers.

While Noora Health provide the content and informational materials as well as expert advice, One Heart Worldwide teams lead the way in mapping needs and delivering trainings. Over time, the aim is for One Heart Worldwide to fully integrate the CCP into its existing programmes. 

For Noora Health, this partnership model presented an opportunity to expand into a new country without needing a significant presence on the ground. Beyond that, it was also enormous learning opportunity, yielding valuable insights on how to maintain programme quality and consistency when they’re not directly implementing it “Our first year of partnership with One Heart Worldwide has not only yielded real impact for mothers and their babies in Nepal, but also helped us to clarify how we can scale durably: with capable partners and clearly defined systems and roles”, says Dr Shahed Alam, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Noora Health.

One Heart Worldwide and Noora Health have renewed ambitions and plan to roll out the CCP across Nepal to a total of 27 hospitals by 2028.