It is being increasingly recognized that TBAs may have a role to play in improving health outcomes in developing countries because of their access to communities and the relationships they share with women in local communities, especially if women are unable to access skilled care. Some countries, training institutes and non-governmental agencies are initiating efforts to train TBAs in basic and emergency obstetric care, family planning, and other maternal health topics, in order to enhance the links between modern health care services and the community, and to improve the chances for better health outcomes among mothers and babies. There is little evidence of large-scale effectiveness of targeted intervention programmes for training TBAs, as they are rarely integrated within a general strategy for improving maternal and child care.