PEMBERDAYAAN MASYARAKAT DI BIDANG KESEHATAN, GAMBARAN PERAN KADER POSYANDU DALAM UPAYA PENURUNAN ANGKA KEMATIAN IBU DAN BAYI DI KOTA MANADO DAN PALANGKARAYA

Background: Determinant factor of maternal and infant mortality are the medical, health services management and social culture. It is assumed that the aspec of medical and health services management easily overcome, because of that, what need to be studied is the social culture aspect. Methods: Designed as a qualitative research this study aims to analyze the principles of impowerment, empowerment activities, enabling and inhibiting factor which do posyandu cadres in efforts to reduce maternal and infant mortality at Manado and Palangkaraya District. Results: Study result showed that no posyandu cadres who used the full principles of empowerment. Empowerment activities are undertaken to increase the community knowledge, not to give ability for decisions making and fasilitate access to health services. Assosiated with community resources, the potencial was there, just has not been widely utilized. For the next time, needs to be done are fasilitated by the health distric officers to do empowerment principles gradually, giving responsibility to the community leader to conduct social marketing about making pregnancy safer and safe delivery. For posyandu cadres, needs to be given of advocacy and negotiating skill to make them more confident. Key words: Community empowerment, maternal and infant mortality, posyandu cadre