Physical Health Madagascar Project #57300

Improving Maternal and Child Health in Madagascar

by SEED Madagascar

Project Report | Apr 16, 2025
Phase V Endline Results Share Hope and Guidance

By Samantha Grunow | Programmes and Office Assistant

Education Session in February

Building on the foundation laid last quarter, Project Votsira has now completed the first four-month round of its Maternal and Child Health (MCH) education curriculum in Fort Dauphin, and the results are both encouraging and energising.

Since October 2024, trained community health workers have delivered 420 education sessions and made over 5,000 follow-up household visits, providing hands-on support and reinforcing key health messages. In total, 1,260 pregnant women, mothers, and grandmothers across 11 fokontany took part in sessions covering nutrition, malaria, diarrhoea, respiratory infections, breastfeeding, antenatal care, and childhood vaccinations. 65 open sessions were also held at two rural health centres (CSBs), now equipped with delivery beds, a ventouse, and surgical lighting to improve childbirth safety.

Notably, our new endline data from March 2025 shows clear improvements in health knowledge. While understanding of malaria and diarrhoea was already high, it still increased to over 97% and 99%, respectively. But the most striking gains came in nutrition and breastfeeding, two newer focus areas in the curriculum. Breastfeeding knowledge rose from 70% to nearly 87%, and understanding of malnutrition nearly doubled, from 40% to just under 80%.

Importantly, harmful misconceptions are being corrected. The belief that colostrum (the first milk) should be discarded is decreasing, and knowledge around timely breastfeeding is growing. A 27% increase in participants identifying the first hour after birth as the ideal time to begin breastfeeding, brings correct responses to 100%.

There’s still work to be done. Many participants, especially grandmothers, showed lower understanding of respiratory infections and the recommended duration of breastfeeding, and these will remain priorities in future sessions.

What’s clear is that this education is sticking. With each session, home visit, and conversation, Votsira is empowering families to make informed health decisions which are leading to healthier pregnancies, safer deliveries, and better outcomes for young children.

With your continued support, we’ll keep building on this progress, one session, one family, and one life at a time.

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Dec 20, 2024
Votsira Phase V: Building Resilient Communities

By Sharone Houssenaly | Programmes and Office Assistant

Focus group

Every day, ten women die from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth, and over 100 children under five years old die from preventable childhood diseases such as acute respiratory infections, diarrhoea, and malnutrition. These statistics are driven by high poverty levels, low access to healthcare, and understaffed, poorly equipped health services, particularly in the Anosy region. Since October 2024, Votsira V has delivered significant progress towards improving maternal and child health education, enhancing healthcare services, and building the capacity of local healthcare providers.

SEED has collaborated with the regional Ministry of Health to train 28 community health workers. A five-day workshop equipped them with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to deliver maternal and child health education, manage group dynamics, conduct household visits, provide breastfeeding support, and identify safeguarding concerns. Following this training, community health workers began delivering the first four-month round of the maternal and child health curriculum, reaching 1,260 pregnant women, mothers, and grandmothers across 11 fokontany in Fort Dauphin.

Votsira not only empowers community health workers to deliver impact but also equips caregivers with the knowledge and tools needed to improve maternal and child health outcomes. Through social behaviour change sessions, over 8,000 caregivers were empowered to adopt healthier practices related to health, nutrition, and WASH. To address malnutrition, Votsira introduced the Positive Deviance approach, which empowered families to identify and adopt successful feeding practices, leading to the recovery of 33 out of 34 children from moderate acute malnutrition.

As SEED Madagascar continues to evolve the Votsira project, we would love for you to continue to be a part of it. Your continued support is crucial as we raise funds to sustain and expand our efforts, ensuring that long-term improvements in maternal and child health outcomes are achieved across Fort Dauphin.

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Sep 3, 2024
Empowering Communities Through Maternal Health

By Sharone Houssenaly | Programmes and Office Assistant

Maternal and child health education session

Every day, ten women die from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth, and over 100 children under five years old die from preventable childhood diseases such as acute respiratory infections, diarrhoea, and malnutrition. These statistics are propelled by incredibly high national poverty levels and low access to healthcare centres, leaving Malagasy communities typically uneducated on maternal and child health. This issue is particularly apparent in the Anosy region, which has especially low levels of maternal and child health education. Understaffed and poorly equipped local health services worsen this lack of knowledge. The project addresses these challenges by enhancing maternal and child health education, improving healthcare attitudes, and building the capacity of local healthcare providers.

Over the past 24 months, Votsira project has delivered three rounds of maternal and child health education to 3,200 participants across 11 communities in Fort Dauphin. Topics included antenatal care, breastfeeding, vaccinations, and disease prevention. Additionally, 171 sessions were held outside health centres, and 10,771 household visits provided personalised support. As a result, 87.3% of participants correctly identified symptoms and treatments for childhood illnesses, and 97.2% improved their breastfeeding practices, surpassing project targets.

SEED worked with the local Ministry of Health to train 22 community health workers and 22 health centre staff, improving their skills in delivering maternal and child health services and emergency obstetric care. Recently, SEED engaged with key health stakeholders, including Doctors for Madagascar, to share insights and foster collaboration. These efforts have laid a strong foundation for future partnerships, with stakeholders showing a willingness to coordinate with SEED in upcoming initiatives.

As the project evolves and grows, we appreciate the overwhelming support SEED has received and are grateful for each and every one of you. SEED is now seeking funding for the next phase of Votsira and would love for you to continue to be a part of it.

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