Promoting Safe Motherhood in Jimma Zone, Ethiopia (IMCHA)
Programs and partnerships
Lead institution(s)
Summary
This project aims to support community-based services that will improve maternal health in Ethiopia, a country with some of the worst health indicators in sub-Saharan Africa. Women's use of maternal and child health services has significant gaps between urban and rural areas.
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This project aims to support community-based services that will improve maternal health in Ethiopia, a country with some of the worst health indicators in sub-Saharan Africa. Women's use of maternal and child health services has significant gaps between urban and rural areas.
Healthy mothers, healthy babies
The Government of Ethiopia is committed to improving maternal health. While some key indicators have improved, maternal mortality has not decreased significantly. The Ethiopian Health Department data suggests many of these maternal and neonatal deaths arise from home births in the absence of a skilled and experienced birth attendant. Strengthening community-based services is therefore important to ensure that mothers have access to services that result in safer deliveries.
Technology, communication, skills development
This project will implement interventions such as:
-training traditional birth attendants and equipping them with mobile phones
-developing communication and education strategies for religious leaders and men
-developing healthcare worker skills for safe deliveries
The project team will evaluate the use of improved maternal waiting areas and health extension worker practitioners for their impact on maternal health outcomes. The research will be carried out in close partnership with the Ethiopian Health Department. Researchers will identify interventions that are the most effective at improving maternal and child health services with a view to scale up nationally.
The project team will produce policy and media briefs, articles, and a project website to share information about the project and their findings.
Innovating for Maternal and Child Health in Africa
This project is part of the Innovating for Maternal and Child Health in Africa program, a seven-year $36 million initiative funded by Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD), Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).