Client: Comic Relief
Duration: 2014-2016
Region: Sub-Saharan Africa
Country: Zambia
Solutions: Global Health
The award-winning More Mobilising Access to Maternal Health Services in Zambia (MORE MAMaZ) program empowered rural communities to address the household and community-level barriers preventing women and girls from accessing maternal and newborn health services.
The program achieved transformational change for women and girls, particularly those who are under-supported at household and community level, through a community engagement approach.
Rural communities were empowered to increase maternal newborn health awareness, address access and affordability barriers, and tackle underlying social problems that contribute to negative health outcomes, such as violence against women. The approach strengthened existing structures, namely community-based Safe Motherhood Action Groups (SMAGs). Complementary, targeted supply-side inputs were provided.
Building on the successes of the predecessor program, Moblising Access to Maternal Health Services, MORE MAMaZ increased the population coverage of community engagement activities to between 61 percent and 94 percent over the program’s lifetime. A national scale-up component supported the roll-out of the MORE MAMaZ approach to a further 15 districts.
The program was implemented to support the Comic Relief Maanda Initiative theme of improved health for women aged 15-49 and children under 5. The program was implemented by Transaid, DAI Global Health, Development Data, and Disacare in partnership with the Ministry of Health and District Health Teams.
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