Improving Maternal and Child Health in Madagascar

Madagascar, a country characterised by extreme vulnerability in various contexts, is facing challenges related to maternal and child outcomes on an unprecedented scale. Misinformation and fear of attending healthcare centres are major factors. The problem is amplified by the lack of qualified healthcare providers, infrastructure, and institutional capacity.

SEED is committed to improving the situation by taking a structured approach. Project Votsira: Phase IV, builds on evidence, learnings, and experiences gained from previous project phases, to address poor maternal and child health strategically and effectively in southeast Madagascar. SEED aims to further address these challenges by improving attitudes and knowledge of community members towards maternal and child healthcare. Additionally, SEED aims to improve the capacity of healthcare providers to deliver maternal and child health education and services and to increase collaboration amongst maternal and child health stakeholders at the regional and national levels, to enable systemic change.

Over the last six months, SEED has trained 22 new community health workers to deliver the child and maternal health curriculum. Support is being provided in the form of education sessions and monthly meetings. The content has been enhanced from previous phases, informed by baseline survey data that identified and covered context-appropriate topics.

Over the next six months, SEED will continue to work with community health workers and support the delivery of the maternal and child health curriculum to 1,320 mothers, fathers, grandmothers, and young women enrolled in the project. The community-level education sessions will continue to run weekly to deliver vital knowledge and build the capacity of community members to take control of their health. SEED practitioners will not rest on their laurels and will continue to engage with stakeholders at the regional and national levels, building strong working relationships.