Holistically Alleviating Poverty in Madagascar

Without systems like health insurance in place, it is common for people in low-income countries like Madagascar to face health shocks. These health shocks are a primary contributor to households falling into poverty and serve as the beginning of a vicious cycle in which health issues both contribute to and result from impoverishment. With this known, SEED views health projects as especially pertinent to alleviating poverty. 

SEED’s Votsira project aims to improve maternal and child health (MCH). With its emphasis on education, this project is focused on promoting proactive health. Votsira began in 2013 and has since completed four successful phases of implementation. These phases have involved partnering with the local health ministry and community health workers to provide MCH education sessions and household visits. In the process, SEED has also supported the MCH specialist training of medical practitioners to ensure medical knowledge is not a barrier to solving complex health issues. Over the last four phases, SEED has conducted approximately 2,156 MCH education sessions and 15,305 household visits, reaching 8,040 mothers, fathers, grandmothers, and mothers-to-be with essential maternal and child health information. 

In the most recent phase (IV), SEED Educated 940 caregivers on diarrhoea, self-medication, syphilis, and HIV and conducted 660 household visits to address caregivers’ individual needs. SEED also supported the delivery of vital childhood vaccinations, such as Polio and Tuberculosis, to 150 children across Fort Dauphin.The final goal of this phase was to improve access to family planning services. 175 individuals were able to access the contraceptive pill and injection.

Phase V of Votsira will continue to work towards educating the communities on MCH with an updated and tailored curriculum, as well as mobilise a MCH campaign across the region. This will be supplemented by more medical training and increased organisation collaboration.