Reduce Mother and Infant Mortality
Provide a year of essential maternity healthcare to isolated mothers in Malawi, and their newborn babies.
Malawi’s high maternal and infant mortality rates can be drastically reduced with access to professional care.
Malawi faces one of the highest maternal mortality ratios globally, currently estimated at 5.7 maternal deaths per 1,000 live births. Heartbreakingly, 1 out of every 37 babies born in Malawi still dies in the first month of life.
In Malawi, where 84% of the population resides in remote rural areas, expectant mothers encounter significant challenges accessing maternity healthcare. Public transport is either prohibitively expensive or non-existent, making it almost impossible to reach a clinic during an emergency.
With professional medical care unavailable, preventable deaths remain a significant concern for women, girls and children in Malawi during pregnancy, childbirth and early life. High maternal mortality rates are attributed to prematurity, unsafe abortions, complications during pregnancy and childbirth, severe postpartum bleeding, or infections such as pneumonia and sepsis.
Antenatal and postnatal care are crucial interventions to prevent these tragedies. To make this care accessible, Mercy Kafotokoza, a midwife, nurse, and public health expert, initiated the Nurses on Bikes program. Nurses drive motorbikes through rough, challenging terrains to reach the most isolated and at-risk patients. Nurses conduct home visits in villages where this are no maternal and infant care services, no public transport, non-functional referral systems for emergency obstetric care, and no presence of nurses or midwives.
Mothers and infants receive essential, life-saving healthcare.
Funding this project will enable a nurse with a motorbike to provide a year of essential health care to mothers and their infants . Comprehensive services include measuring pregnant women's weight to monitor fetal growth, checking fetal heartbeat, and monitoring blood pressure; referrals for initial antenatal care tests for syphilis, HIV, and anemia. Expectant mothers are encouraged to complete four Ministry of Health-recommended Antenatal Care visits and deliver at a health facility. This approach aims to reduce maternal and newborn mortality by identifying complications early and ensuring safe deliveries in sanitary environments. Postnatal care is provided within 48 hours after discharge, followed by ten scheduled visits until the child turns five.
Each pregnant woman will also receive a maternity pack filled with essential mother and baby supplies. The packs, vital for the first 28 days of a newborn's life, include wrapping cloths, a baby blanket, basins for the mother and baby, washing and bathing soap, a plastic sheet, candles, safety matches, cotton thread ball, and sanitary pads.
Supporting this project will give babies the best possible start in life, and ensure their mothers are well taken care of too.
To discuss supporting this project reach out to jo@justpeoples.org
Meet Mercy
The midwife and nurse dedicated to eliminating preventable maternal deaths in Malawi
After witnessing multiple preventable deaths while working in a public hospital, Mercy quit her comfortable, secure job and founded her own organisation. Her mission is to provide quality healthcare that is accessible to the most remote Malawians, with a focus on pre- and post- maternity healthcare. Mercy has since built up a team of 130 trained community health workers who have restored dignity and hope in isolated communities, and have treated over 350,000 patients across rural Malawi. Learn more.