Making Pregnancy Safer

The rural Karonga district of Malawi has high levels of teenage pregnancies. Many women here suffer health problems in pregnancy or childbirth – and 1 in 50 women aged 15 to 49 will die from them.

Our DataStories discover the difference made by the “Reaching Mother and Child for Health” programme. Launched in 2015, it was supported by UK Aid Match funding, which included contributions from the UK Government and donations from the public.

Our partners Foundation for Community Support Services (FOCUS), Adventist Health Services (AHS) and Ministry of Health Karonga District Health Office (KDHO) have renovated health facilities, set up outreach clinics, and provided an ambulance to get women to hospital. Women in the community have trained as village savings and loans agents, so that mothers-to-be can afford clothes, food and baby baths.

168 Mothers groups have shared health information with women - from nutrition advice to the importance of hospital births with skilled medical staff. Many people still rely on traditional birth attendants, who have no formal training and may suggest unsafe approaches to inducing labour.

And 38 Men As Partners (MAP) groups have been set up. In Karonga, men are traditionally the decision makers, in the community and at home. The MAP approach educates men about the realities of pregnancy, encouraging them to embrace responsibility for the well-being of their wife and child.

In the video below, Joseph, a Safe Mother Co-ordinator at Karonga District Hospital and Samira, a farmer and local organiser explain how the programme worked.

Data on this page is from Christian Aid and the Malawi Demographics and Health Survey. The information on maternal mortality rate trends is for Malawi compared with highly indebted poorer countries (HIPCs), using information from the World Health Organisation.