The story of women empowerment is the story of Team Mum, dedicated to antenatal care for women.
Why is antenatal care critical for women’s empowerment?
Empowering women means ensuring women have access to the resources, knowledge and decision-making abilities they need to take power and control over their lives.
However, in many places around the world, women can’t make informed decisions about their own bodies because they lack access to the healthcare they are entitled to. This is particularly important for pregnant women who need access to comprehensive antenatal care (ANC).
ANC provides pregnant women with life-saving information, treatment and services to help them look after themselves and their baby.
ANC in Meru, Kenya
In Kenya, 58% of women attend the WHO-recommended four ANC clinics, putting thousands of women and babies at risk of dying from preventable diseases.
In Meru county, Kenya, a huge barrier to ANC is distance and poor road infrastructure. Either there is no transport available to the nearest health clinic, or it is unaffordable. In this case, a woman must walk 7-10 kilometers to reach a clinic, where she is not even guaranteed to receive comprehensive ANC care due to under equipped facilities. She might also be too tired, ill or heavily pregnant to attempt the walk.
This is not what empowerment looks like.
How is Child.org empowering women through our Team Mum project?
Child.org’s Team Mum is working with the County Government of Meru to change this. Currently, we employ three strategies to improve access to ANC:
Team Mum’s Pregnant Women’s Groups (PWGS)
We work with the Meru government to train health workers to run PWGs. PWGs are a space for pregnant women to learn critical information such as what danger signs to look out for during pregnancy, and why they should attend ANC. They are also a space to voice any questions, and gain emotional support. Team Mum’s mobile clinic
Due to the long distances and poor roads, we want to bring ANC to pregnant women in their communities. Team Mum’s mobile clinic is a van equipped with vital services and equipment that provide pregnant women with free ANC services. Team Dad: male partner engagement
Meru is predominantly a patriarchal society, where men make the decisions (even decisions about whether a woman should go to hospital). Women also lack moral - and sometimes financial - support from their partner during pregnancy. The team in Kenya works to engage male partners in conversation about why it’s important to support their pregnant wives, and how they can do so.
What’s next?
The road to women empowerment is long, and we will not get there without the crucial foundation of quality, accessible healthcare.
Child.org’s Team Mum is helping lay these foundations. We want to reach 600,000 new women and girls every year.
And we want you to join us.
Subscribe to Child.org’s newsletter and be part of this exciting project to empower more women and girls.
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