Celebrate Solutions: Community mobilization guide to improve the health of mothers and babies

By: Rachel Cernansky, winner of the Women Bloggers Deliver contest

The infant mortality rate in India is estimated at about 39 deaths per 1,000 live births and nearly double that in rural areas --so it's notable when a new project results in a 45 percent drop in newborn deaths. That's precisely what has happened with a community mobilization effort in India and Bangladesh.

Using the reach and know-how of local women's groups, a community mobilization project called Saving Mothers and Children has found great success in improving the health of mothers and their babies. In addition to the 45 percent reduction in newborn deaths in India, it helped moderate maternal depression to fall 57 percent and increased the uptake of health services in Bangladesh. Both countries saw an improvement in hygienic delivery practices, such as the use of delivery kits and exclusive breastfeeding.

The community mobilization approach is rooted in targeting women of reproductive age and focusing meetings on topics that are relevant to the target audience (to eliminate the need for a financial incentive for participation). Working in collaboration with community health workers and facilities is also important, both to strengthen community links and to improve services when possible.

Existing organizations familiar with a participatory approach were found to be more effective and efficient than newly-formed organizations. The approach has greater success in rural communities, where people are more likely to participate and cooperate in group action, than in urban areas, where people are more transient and communities less cohesive.  

Being able to effectively reach women, first physically and then intellectually and/or emotionally, is the key to success for community mobilization efforts like the one implemented by Saving Mothers and Children.

Documenting Good Practices
UK-based Women and Children First, which helped to implement the project, has developed a Good Practice Guide based on the approach used in Bangladesh and India that can be adapted elsewhere to yield similar improvements in child and maternal health. The Saving Mothers and Children project was focused in tribal and rural areas in India and Bangladesh.

The Good Practice Guide details the participatory learning and action cycle used in the community mobilization, and describes the four phases of the cycle as follows: "assessing the situation and identifying maternal and newborn health problems; identifying strategies to address these problems; taking action; and measuring progress and impact. Each phase includes a series of women’s group meetings that cover different topics. Completing the whole cycle takes around two years."

One woman in the project area, quoted in the guide, summarizes the potential impact of the community mobilization approach for so many other women around the world who do not realize the risks they face during pregnancy and childbirth: “Perhaps my daughter and I would not be alive today if our group members hadn’t convinced my family to admit me in the hospital. I will be grateful to our Women’s Group members forever.”

Download the guide here.

Photo via United Nations Photo.