In 1986, when Dr Abhay and Dr Rani Bang decided to adopt Gadchiroli, a tribal village in Maharashtra, India as their home and workplace, the district was infamous for Naxalism, abject poverty, poor infrastructure and abysmal health services. Today, nearly 30 years later the Bangs' model of home-based newborn and child care is now being practiced across India and even in Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and African nations such as Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi and Madagascar. By taking neo-natal care to the doorstep of the poor, they have managed to control infant mortality in the 39 villages where they work. More on their remarkable work in this article.
