Child.org’s work in maternal and child health directly supports the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. Together, we will make this world fairer, safer and better for women and children.
At Child.org we champion community-based healthcare solutions to make pregnancies and births safer.
We are doing this now – today. Our team has been working in Meru, Kenya to train local Community Health Promoters to run pregnancy support groups that deliver life-saving, life-changing information and support to pregnant women.
Delivering this work is impactful in itself, but our role in the bigger picture is just as exciting. Whilst our charity may be small (for now…), causes like ours are key in developing the building blocks for a better, fairer and kinder world for all. What we do to promote maternal health directly supports the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)*, in particular SDG 3 to ensure good health and well-being and SDG 5 to achieve gender equality for all.
Here are two stories which we hope will shine a light on where Child.org stands within the bigger picture of global sustainable development and health & gender equality.
The first story is about Doris: a Community Health Promoter in Igembe East Ward, Kenya who has been working alongside Child.org to run our Team Mum Pregnant Women’s Groups.
Doris’ Story
When Doris started working with Team Mum, she found that local pregnant women were experiencing many challenges, such as limited financial and a lack of awareness about how to look after themselves during pregnancy.
Many women were not attending enough antenatal care clinics which put themselves and their babies at risk, as they would continue to drink alcohol or deliver their babies at home without a skilled birth attendant present.
“The most important success for me was that women learnt to attend antenatal clinics as early into their pregnancy journey as possible.” Doris remembers one particular success story about a pregnant woman who experienced vaginal bleeding. Her mother had told her that it was a normal part of pregnancy but the Community Health Promoters advised the woman to go to hospital and she told the doctor how she had learnt that vaginal bleeding was a danger sign.”
By working with amazing people like Doris to help women access quality pregnancy healthcare information, Child.org are directly tackling indicators one and two of SDG 3 (good health and wellbeing):
- Reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 10,000 live births by 2030, and ending preventable ;
- End preventable deaths of newborns and children under five years of age by 2023.
Our second story looks at gender equality. Deric and Ima, who live in Meru, Kenya, have two children together. Before joining Team Mum, Ima’s experience of her first pregnancy was difficult:
Deric and Ima’s Story
Many women were not attending enough antenatal care clinics which put themselves and their babies at risk, as they would continue to drink alcohol or deliver their babies at home without a skilled birth attendant present.
“I worked hard to go to antenatal clinics on my own but I wasn’t being supported enough by my husband. This is often the case for other women in my community: we lack basic needs and support so we can’t go to antenatal clinics. It’s also hard for us because here in Igembe, women are forced to participate in laborious tasks like working on the farms even when we’re pregnant.”
At the same time as Ima attended Team Mum sessions, her partner Deric took part in Team Mum’s male partner engagement sessions where he learnt how he could better support Ima:
“I learnt about the importance of remembering Ima’s clinic dates, what a healthy diet looks like for a pregnant woman and also that it is not safe for pregnant women to do strenuous jobs like working on the farm.‘
“Most pregnant women in this community lack moral support from their partners. Men won’t walk with their pregnant partner in public and even refuse to admit that the unborn child is theirs. I had to work harder and take on more responsibility after learning from Team Mum, but now I help Ima take care of our baby and I am happy to be a supportive husband and father because this baby is a blessing for me and my family.”
By providing accessible antenatal care sessions and initiating conversations with male partners about supporting pregnant women, Child.org is actively contributing to indicator four of SDG 5:
- Recognise and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate.
At Child.org we are proud to be part of a global fabric of organisations and individuals who are stepping up and making the changes necessary for a fair future for all.
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