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Mama Kikwete signed an online petition to support the nomination when she launched the Stand Up for African Mothers Campaign on May 15 at Mnazi Mmoja grounds in Dar es Salaam. The campaign aims to raise awareness about the plight of African women during pregnancy and childbirth and to raise funds for midwifery training in African countries, including Tanzania.

While acknowledging the severe shortage of midwives in the country, and especially in the rural areas, the First Lady underlined the importance of midwifery training as one of the strategies to reduce maternal deaths. She congratulated AMREF for launching the innovative campaign, which will also be rolled out to the regions.

 “Just like AMREF, I believe that no woman should die when giving life. I therefore call upon all stakeholders such as local government, development partners and civil society to invest in midwifery training so that we can reduce maternal deaths by at least 50 per cent,” she said.

Click on the image for a slide show of the event

Mama Kikwete said that lack of midwives denies women opportunities to get quality reproductive health services and in many instances endangers their health. “It is very important to ensure that midwifery is a valued profession. In schools, students should be encouraged to take sciences and ultimately midwifery so that they can save the lives of pregnant women and children.

She said that through her organisation, Wanawake na Maendeleo (WAMA), she fully supports the campaign and asked other organisations, companies, parastatals and individuals to join in the effort to reduce maternal death.

She noted that according to 2002 census figures, Tanzanians were 38 million while the current population is an estimated 45 million. “If just half of us would contribute Tsh1,000 we will get about 20 billion, which can train  5,000 midwives.

AMREF Tanzania Country Director Dr Festus Ilako said that through the campaign, AMREF plans to train 4,222 midwives in the country. “But it is important to note that we will reach this target only if we will raise enough money to do so,” he added. The average cost of training one midwife is Euro 2,000.

Dr Ilako said that the campaign adds value to the work that AMREF has been doing for African mothers since its establishment.  He cited AMREF’s work in improving access to and use of reproductive health services, training of midwives, encouraging pregnant women to take preventive measures against malaria and raising awareness about HIV prevention.

AMREF has also been providing hygiene education, improving access to clean water and sanitation, promoting reproductive rights, helping women to make informed choices about family planning, raising awareness about violence against women and helping women to access the services they need, he added.

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AMREF Tanzania Country Director, Dr. Festus Ilako, says the First Lady, Salma Kikwete, has graciously agreed to officiate at the launch at Mnazi Mmoja grounds, Dar es Salaam. Talking about the event, Dr Ilako said that this marks the beginning of a three-year international awareness and fundraising campaign aimed at mobilising resources for training 4,222 midwives in Tanzania. “It may seem ambitious, but it can be done if all of us play our part,” said Dr. Ilako. He said so many reports talk about midwives’ scarcity and others say some of them are not competent enough for that task. “As AMREF we thought of going a step further by finding a solution to this problem which is of course to train them equipping them with better skills.”

He said at the launch edutainment will be used to raise awareness regarding maternal deaths so that people know the magnitude of the problem and feel compelled to do something about it, and contribute to this noble cause.

People will also be encouraged to sign the midwives’ petition and support Esther Madudu, an African midwife, who AMREF has proposed for the Nobel Peace Prize 2015. “We are actually going to take laptops to the grounds to enable people sign the petition there. We want to collect as many signatures as we can,” he said. The nomination of Esther is a symbolic one where AMREF wants to honour all African midwives for the important role they play in saving the lives of mothers and their children.

Dr. Ilako said the Minister for Health and Social Welfare Minister, Dr. Hussein Mwinyi, once Chairman of AMREF’s Advisory Council has also agreed to grace the event. Chief Medical Officer, Director of Human Resources Development and Director of Safe Motherhood have also been invited.

The invitations have also been extended to the Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner, Mr. Said Mecky Sadiki, the three Dar es Salaam district commissioners (Ms. Sofia Mjema – Temeke, Mr. Raymond Mushi – Ilala, Mr. Jordan Lugimbana – Kinondoni). “We have also invited Dar es Salaam constituencies’ members of parliament and most importantly the event is open to the general public,” stated Dr Ilako.

The BOMA Model was designed in line with the National Health Sector Strategic Health Plan II that enhances delivery essential packages for health through the community strategy. This approach emphasises bringing health closer to the people through their participation at entry level, the development, testing, promotion and adoption of appropriate models of improving health in Kenya. The model has achieved improved MNCH service delivery at the household level and the wider Magadi community. The strategies adopted through this model included, community mobilization and demand driven actions, capacity building and partnership. The model has been fully supported by communities and Ministries of Health. It has demonstrated that it is ideal for nomadic communities and is doable under the normal MoH functions. Overall, the AMREF interventions have contributed to increased number of maternal and child health services except for skilled birth attendance and family planning use.

The Health Market Innovation awards programmes in the East Africa region that have increased access to health services, improved quality of service delivery and or provided financial protection to the poor and vulnerable. Accepting the award during the ceremony held in Kampala, Uganda on 2 May 2012, AMREF Kenya Country Director Dr Lennie Bazira Kyomuhangi said " I wish to express my sincere appreciation for the Magadi Community and especially the Community Health Workers who worked hard and voluntarily to change behavior on maternal seeking services. Our staff who worked on this project under the able leadership of Josephine Lesiamon supported by then SMT team are highly appreciated for the innovation, dedication and hard work."

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AMREF Launches Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) Project in Samburu, Kenya

During the course of this project, 6,618 local people have been trained and more than 1.5 million patient visits have occurred. In the districts covered by the project, malaria deaths in hospital declined by half between 2007 and 2011, new TB cases dropped by 10%, and new HIV diagnoses fell from 11% to 7%, with 69,730 tests now carried out per year, three times the annual figure from the start of the project.

Critical success factors include:

1. Integrating services for greater impact

• Dealing with these three diseases concurrently has improved efficiency and magnified the impact of existing national healthcare resources.
• In particular, integrating HIV/AIDS and TB screening has resulted in a dramatic increase in the diagnosis of HIV/TB co-infection.

2. Sustainable investments via health system capacity-building

• AstraZeneca and AMREF have ensured alignment with national guidelines by working closely with Uganda’s District Health Team, District AIDS Task Force, District AIDS Committee and health workers from the parish to the county hospital level.
• Community Health Units have been given the technology and training necessary to drastically improve data collection and analysis, laying the foundation for a community-based health information system. Through improved links to the formal health system, this locally-sourced data can now inform national health strategy.
• Resources established by this program – such as laboratories and Village Health Workers – can be leveraged to fight other diseases, multiplying impact.”

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http://conference.gbchealth.org/awards/2012-award-winners.php#winning

Midwife literally translates to “With a Woman” from Latin, reflecting the practice that from time immemorial, women sought the assistance of other women close to them at the time of labour and childbirth. Midwives have therefore been part of the human experience since time immemorial.

Up until the advent of modern midwifery in approximately the 17th and 18th centuries when the first schools of midwifery training appeared in Europe, the whole world had approximately the same levels of maternal death during childbirth, roughly 20%, with the most feared causes being hemorrhage and puerperal fever, or infection after childbirth. Today, there is very low maternal mortality in the developed world, not least because of the professionalization of midwifery in those countries. However, approximately 35,000 women continue to suffer severe complications of childbirth daily, with about 900 deaths every day, most in the developing countries of Africa and Asia (The State of the World’s Midwifery 2011).

It is no coincidence that in most of sub-Saharan Africa which has the highest burden of maternal and newborn mortality, only an average of 40% of women have access to a professional midwife at the time of childbirth, and in some countries that have been in conflict for a long time, only about 6% to 10% have access to a trained midwife. Maternal and newborn mortality is highest in such countries. There is a clear correlation between numbers of midwives and levels of maternal death and severe injury like obstetric fistula. Numerous studies show that quality midwifery services are a critical component in saving lives of women and newborns, enhancing the health of women and children in very specific ways, and therefore improving both the right of women to enjoy the highest state of health which is their birthright, and gender equity in society.

Societies that have reduced preventable maternal mortality and improved women’s access to better health and survival enjoy increased economic productivity and quality of life for all than societies that continue to experience high levels of maternal morbidity and mortality. In a recent analysis that AMREF carried out for 10 high burden countries for maternal mortality, only an average of 45% of professional midwifery posts were filled, and there was a total deficit of 30,000 midwives in just the 10 countries. It is very clear that MIDWIVES SAVE LIVES. They also provide vital care to healthy women by providing family planning, prevention and treatment of infections, nutrition counseling for pregnant women, care for newborns and ensuring that they are immunised, and help in reducing mother to child transmission of HIV, among other critical services. It is imperative that nations understand the vital connection between midwives availability and maternal and newborn survival, and focus on actions that reduce preventable maternal and newborn death, including improving their health systems. An essential element of the latter is increasing numbers of health personnel, with priority being placed on rapidly increasing numbers of midwives to ensure that women receive high quality care before, during pregnancy, during childbirth and afterwards. On the international Day of the Midwife, the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) is calling on African governments and their development partners including civil society to invest urgently in training midwives, with a view to eliminate the gap of over 50% in numbers of midwives that exists today and denies African mothers life saving services.

AMREF is contributing towards this through its ‘Stand Up for African Mothers’ campaign which aims to train 15,000 midwives by 2015 and help reduce maternal mortality by 25% in sub-Saharan Africa.  AMREF is also nominating an African midwife for the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize.  This is a symbolic nomination where AMREF wants to honour all African midwives for the important role they play in saving the lives of mothers and their children. You can join AMREF’s campaign by signing up at www.standupforafricanmothers.com. AMREF wishes all midwives across the world a very happy International Day of the Midwife, and wishes to let them know that AMREF recognises them as heroes in our communities.

For further information, please contact:
Dr John Nduba
Technical Director, Reproductive and Child Health Programme
AMREF
Email: john.nduba@amref.org

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Receiving the award, the DG said that AMREF works in the remotest communities in Africa, serving the most vulnerable people in order to achieve lasting health change in Africa. “We believe that the power to transform Africa’s health lies within its communities. We therefore work side by side with the people to build their knowledge and skills, so that they can transform their own health,” she emphasised.

Click on the picture to view slide show

Dr Teguest Guerma receives the award from Dr Luis Sambo, Director, WHO AFRO

She observed that AMREF’s credibility with local communities and African governments stems from the relationship and trust that AMREF has built over the past 55 years which includes learning from, influencing and partnering with various stakeholders to build long-term relationships and ensure holistic solutions to address communities’ needs. She also noted that AMREF’s recognition in the public health arena stems from the fact that AMREF strengthens health systems, particularly at community level, and develops human resources for health to alleviate the critical shortage of skilled health workers in Africa. She pointed out that AMREF has trained over 500,000 community health workers, mid-level health workers, and leaders of health institutions from over 33 African countries. 

The DG announced that AMREF’s focus on women and children had seen it launch an international awareness campaign called Stand Up for African Mothers. She explained that the campaign aims to train 15,000 midwives by 2015 in order to contribute to reduction of maternal mortality in Africa by up to 25 per cent.

Read Press Release on the award here

During the last decade, national and international efforts to combat malaria have been stepped up through innovative funding that has enabled the development of new tools and improved access to malaria prevention and control measures. Since 2000, the incidence of malaria globally has reduced by 17 per cent, and malaria mortality rates have fallen by 26 per cent. These rates are less than the internationally agreed targets of 50 per cent reduction by 2010 but nonetheless represent a major achievement.

More work is urgently needed because malaria still claims the life of one child every minute. People living in high-risk malarial areas, especially disadvantaged communities and those living in rural areas, face severe challenges in accessing tools and services for malaria prevention and treatment. The heavy economic and social burden that malaria inflicts on families and societies maintains communities in an unbreakable cycle of disease and poverty.

Because malaria is preventable and treatable, many more lives can be saved through a combination of proven and innovative malaria control interventions. As an organisation working side-by-side with communities, AMREF wants to see people with the knowledge, skills and means to tackle malaria, maintain their good health and break the cycle of poor health and poverty. Successful malaria control programmes not only save lives but also have a real impact on the productivity and wellbeing of people in malaria-endemic areas.

The recent successes noted in Africa are still fragile and need to be reinforced, expanded and sustained. The reduction in commitments from the Global Fund, one of the main international donors for malaria control, is a major threat to achieving universal malaria control. Funding from governments in Africa is generally less than US$1 per person at risk and represents a very small proportion of the total financing required in the most highly endemic countries.

AMREF is concerned that adequate funding is maintained, and calls on governments, donors, the private sector and partners to reinforce and renew their commitment to invest in malaria control and build strong partnerships to sustain the gains already made, scale up interventions in high- risk malarial areas, strengthen health and community systems, and meet the strategic goals to eliminate malaria in Africa.

As the world celebrates the World Malaria Day 2012, AMREF would like to pay special attention to women’s health in malaria-endemic countries, and particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where mothers continue to die while giving birth. Most of these deaths are due to preventable causes including malaria, anaemia, bleeding and abortion. In some parts of the continent, malaria contributes up to 30% of maternal mortality. Preventing infection will therefore greatly contribute to reduction of maternal deaths.  In the strong belief that no woman should die giving life, including from malaria, AMREF launched the Stand Up for African Mothers campaign in October 2011, an international initiative that aims to train 15,000 midwives by 2015 to contribute to the reduction of maternal deaths in Africa by 25 per cent. Among other things, these midwives will educate mothers in the use of Insecticide-Treated Nets, and administer intermittent preventive treatment during pregnancy, as well as diagnose and treat malaria cases. Indeed, skilled care before, during and after childbirth can save the lives of women and newborn babies.

By drawing attention to the plight of African mothers and mobilising citizens worldwide to ensure that women get the basic medical care they need during pregnancy and childbirth, including prevention and treatment of malaria, AMREF hopes to reduce maternal mortality and make childbirth a matter of joy as the world marks World Malaria Day.

The meetings objectives include

• To share the Business Plan with all internal stakeholders and achieve a common purpose in programming, fundraising and programme management
• To share scientific knowledge from programmes and research across the strategic direction (SD) areas of the Business Plan
• To identify opportunities for AMREF in relation to the priority areas for programming, research and advocacy
• To enhance performance of the AMREF team in programme implementation and management
• To share institutional knowledge and best practices

Officially opening the meeting, AMREF’s DG Dr Teguest Guerma said “This 1st BAPM represents one of the processes that will be institutionalized to support the governance processes. One great opportunity lies in how well AMREF internalizes the practice of operations research to continually generate evidence on creative and innovative ways of improving corporate performance for influence of health policy and practices across Africa.”

Besides being a great team-building activity, the BAPM will give staff an opportunity to learn how to write up and present research and lessons learned in their programme work to their peers and get critiqued before they present the same to external audiences and publish. It will also help to identify staff with potential for scientific work and facilitate their development to higher levels of achievement. Furthermore, the meeting will serve as a platform for sharing strategic ideas so that AMREF staff are able to contribute to the organisation’s Strategic Directions as spelt out in the Business Plan 2011-2014.

Highlights

Day 1 and 2 Theme: AMREF’s policies and systems: Supporting implementation of the Business Plan

World TB Day is commemorated on 24 March every year to focus the world’s attention on TB. It provides an opportunity for people across the globe to unite in the fight against TB, raise awareness about TB-related challenges and solutions, and to support worldwide TB control efforts.

As Africa’s leading health development organisation, AMREF is working with governments, civil society organisations (CSOs), communities and United Nations agencies to contribute to a world free of TB. AMREF joins the global Stop TB Partnership in accepting the slogan “Stop TB in my lifetime”.

AMREF is working with World Health Organisation to develop more efficient and effective ways of delivering TB services, capitalising on existing successful programmes by developing an integrated model of HIV and TB programmes. Integrated approaches aim at providing all services at one stop; increasing coverage; reducing the number of visits; and maximising the use of the limited human and financial resources. The one-stop approach also leads to patient satisfaction and promotes compliance to treatment of both TB and HIV.

AMREF also advocates for early case detection and treatment, with user-friendly, quick and affordable point-of-care diagnostic tools. The fight to ‘Stop TB in my lifetime’ will be successful if national, provincial, district, indigenous and international organisations, the UN and partners from all sectors of society join hands and use available resources to find cheaper and effective modes of service delivery. These activities cannot be realised without adequate and sustained funding.
 
AMREF and many CSOs are recipients of Global Fund grants that have immensely supported TB control in Africa. AMREF has used these funds to build programme capacity, resulting in increased case notification, effective treatment and coordinated defaulter tracing. The current global financial crisis and the inability of the Global Fund to disburse grants poses a grave risk to the gains made in TB control in Africa. AMREF therefore calls for development of sustainable funding mechanisms for TB in Africa.

Abebe Aberra
AMREF Programme Leader, HIV/AIDS/TB

View the BAPM 2012 Programme

The theme of the meeting is ‘Creating a culture of evidence: Measuring and communicating AMREF’s results in advancing the health of women and children’. Besides being a great team-building activity, the BAPM will give staff an opportunity to learn how to write up and present research and lessons learned in their programme work to their peers and get critiqued before they present the same to external audiences and publish. It will also help to identify staff with potential for scientific work and facilitate their development to higher levels of achievement. Furthermore, the meeting will serve as a platform for sharing strategic ideas so that AMREF staff are able to contribute to the organisation’s Strategic Directions as spelt out in the Business Plan 2011-2014.

The theme of the World Water Day this year is Water and Food Security. Food and water are essential elements that all human beings must have access to in order to live. Access to food that is sufficient, nutritionally adequate and safe as well as water that is sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable are fundamental human rights that for many people remain a promise unfulfilled. Globally, some estimated 2.6 billion people do not use improved sanitation facilities (WHO, UNICEF, 2010) and around 925 million people worldwide are chronically undernourished (FAO, 2010). 

Lack of safe drinking water and sanitation impact negatively on access to proper nutrition and food security. Open defecation, poor sanitation facilities and improper waste disposal contaminate food in many communities in Africa. At the same time, unsafe drinking water and poor hygiene frequently lead to increases in diarrhoeal diseases, rendering efforts to improve nutrition ineffective.  Unless urgent and concerted action is taken, the situation is likely to get worse in years ahead as populations increase and water sources get more scarce. To meet the dietary demands of a growing world population, projected to reach 9 billion by 2050, world food production would need to increase by 70 per cent (FAO, 2009). A great deal of the population growth will take place in urban areas, leading to a substantial increase in urban food demand, and requiring safe and productive management of increased volumes of organic waste, human excreta and wastewater.

Ensuring that people have access to adequate nutrient-rich food and safe water is essential for protecting the safety, health and well-being of everyone, especially expectant mothers and children. Not only is water necessary to sustain life, but proper nutrition is also required to ensure optimal health. Consumption of a wide variety of foods, with adequate vitamin and mineral intake, is the basis of a healthy diet. Children under the age of five are most vulnerable to malnutrition. Undernutrition causes weakness and fatigue, inhibits mental and physical development, particularly in children (where it also causes stunting), and increases susceptibility to other fatal diseases such as pneumonia and diarrhoea.

But even when food consumption is sufficient, diarrhoeal diseases inhibit nutrient absorption, which can lead to malnutrition.  That is why AMREF on this World Water Day joins the world in advocating for safe water and sanitation for all to ensure lasting health change in Africa.  Reductions in diarrhoeal diseases can be achieved by providing improved sanitation and water supply, which in turn can prevent long-term illness and save at least 860,000 children from dying of malnutrition each year.

Achieving sustainable increases in food production to alleviate poverty and eradiate hunger requires sound management of critical inputs like water and land, making linkages between agriculture, food security, health, water management, and safe drinking water programmes essential. To this end, AMREF calls for the integration of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programming with child survival interventions to reduce the number of child deaths caused by diarrhoeal diseases. We also advocate for initiatives to increase awareness of the importance of simple hand washing, an element of hygiene programming that can reduce the incidence of childhood diseases by approximately 45 per cent.

Day 1: They committed, they came and they spoke passionately

The opening ceremony set the stage for the discussions of the week. The forum was first held in Marakesh, Morocco, with a participation of 500 people, and has grown to the current 28,000 participants in the Sixth Water Forum.
The forum has over 400 hours of discussions and debates; Over 250 sessions and panels and about 100 grassroots and citizenship events; regional trialogues organised among ministers, parliamentarians and local/ regional authorities.
Mayor Jean-Claude Gaudin of Marseille welcomed participants to the city of Marseille, a city that often has to contend with flooding but where progress has been made to address the problem over the years. French Prime Minister François Fillon urged for accelerated progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on water and sanitation.
The sentiments of the key speakers of the day included;

• Progress has been made in achieving the MDG related to water access but as the world celebrates, but there are regions where a lot more work  still needs to be done.
• The forum must focus on political and social issues. Good governance is key to access to water.
• There is interdependency between water and food security – therefore agriculture must form part of the forum’s discussions.

There was not a whisper in the room when two young people from Mali recited: “You claim you have solutions? Then so much the better. Bring them, but listen also to ours. And promise that you are going to commit yourself to implement them. Promise that tomorrow, not 100 years from now, not even in ten years, but tomorrow, there will be no schools without drinking water taps and latrines in my country.” This is the sentiment of many African children who are among the 300 million who still do not have access to water sources.
A new approach for reflecting on global water reality and future
The AMREF team attended the launch of the World Water Development Report 4 by the World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP) and UNESCO. The report brought together 28 UN water agencies and was described by UNESCO director general Irina Bokova as historic and ‘a roadmap to move forward’.
The key message of the report is that water is a factor in many global crises and underlines strengthened cooperation in water initiatives. It notes that 40% of the world’s population depends on transboundary water, and that projected population growth (70% by 2050) will lead to increases in global food demand (70% by 2050) and energy consumption (49% by 2035), hence the need for a socioeconomic approach in water management.

Day 2: Discussions warm up as the weather warms up

On the second day of the Forum, a Ministerial Conference presided by Henri de Raincourt, French Minister in charge of Cooperation, made a declaration committing all ministers present to ensuring water is high on every agenda. The declaration provides a road map in moving forward the water and sanitation agenda.  

AMREF welcomed the declaration as it reinforces earlier commitments made. It however falls short of an action plan to compel all countries to adhere particularly to the UN’s adoption of water as a human right. Without an action plan and a clear agenda, the declaration is merely a statement that has no value. Read AMREF's Statement here

It was noted that close to 790 million people still lack access to safe drinking water, while 2.5 billion people lack improved sanitation. People continue to die from cholera. Integration and coordination between the water and the health sectors was emphasised, as well as provision of long- and short-term measures to prevent and control cholera, beyond emergency responses to outbreaks.

Reinforcing AMREF’s call for evidence, the Forum called for concerted efforts by stakeholders to establish a knowledge base in WASH (water, sanitation and health) to address the challenges of access to water and sanitation. 
Water, sanitation and agriculture: 3,000 litters of water are used to produce one meal!
The world cannot talk of improved nutrition and food security without addressing the challenges of water access. Nutrition remains a core issue in the health of women and children in Africa and without addressing food security, it will be impossible to address nutrition.

These two elements are intertwined and will be the ultimate challenge as the global population continues to increase. During the World Water Forum, Alexander Muller, Assistant Director-General for Natural Resources della FAO, said that there will be need for a 70% increase food production by 2050 in order to feed a world population of 9 billion people. The main increase in population is expected to happen in Africa.

Mr Muller called for increased support for the small-scale farmer, who provides two-fifths of the world’s food. In Africa the small-scale farmer produces 70% of the food required. AMREF will continue to support communities to find lasting solutions to their health and work on access to water and sanitation in order to ensure that food production is maintained and augmented at the household level in Africa’s communities. This means integrating food security, nutrition and small household gardens as part of WASH programming. Integrated approaches to improved nutrition remain the core of Africa’s health. Water and sanitation are the denominators that cut across all development interventions leading to better health. Without water, there can be no improvement in nutrition, child or maternal health, no success in managing HIV and AIDs and no improvement in outcomes of malaria and diagnostic interventions.

Day 3:  Commitments are made!

High Level Meeting on the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Initiative and the African Water Facility
The African Development Bank, in collaboration with the African Union, the African Ministers’ Council on Water, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the Government of France held a high level conference on March 14 to discuss solutions and financing for strengthening water security in Africa.

The conference brought together African finance and water ministers as well as development partners to discuss ways to enhance support for the development of the water and sanitation sector to ensure water security in Africa. Special attention was given to the Rural Water Supply Initiative and the African Water Facility, two Africa-led initiatives that have made a significant contribution to the sector by promoting the attainment of the 2015 MDGs and the African Water Vision 2025.  Their success in mobilising additional financing has stirred water project development in Africa, which has positively impacted the lives of millions of people across the continent.  There is currently a call for research proposals on WASH to which AMREF is responding under the African Water Facility.

The conference also provided an opportunity for African governments and development partners to reiterate their support for the two initiatives by reconfirming their commitments to building water infrastructure and prioritising the provision of basic water and sanitation services for the neediest people, particularly in the rural areas. Ministers from Kenya, Ethiopia, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda Mozambique, Malawi, South Africa and Zambia were represented at the meeting.

http://www.worldwaterforum6.org/en/news/newspage/2/ 

AMREF’s Director General Teguest Guerma highlighted the plight of the African mothers who die during child birth. “They die because they are not informed or educated about the need to look for antenatal care during pregnancy and to deliver in the hospitals with skilled assistance, so they deliver at home.”  Describing the three elements of the Stand up for African Mothers campaign, Dr Guerma said that the first is training of 15,000 midwives by 2015 in order to contribute to the reduction of maternal deaths by 25 per cent.  One midwife can look after 500 mothers every year, and safely deliver 100 babies. The second part is supporting the symbolic nomination of Esther Madudu, a midwife from Uganda, for the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize in honour of all African midwives for the important role they play in saving the lives of mothers and their children. She encouraged all to log onto www.standupforafricanmothers.com and sign the petition for Esther’s nomination. The third element is that Africans themselves must begin by putting something on the table, even before asking others to help. “We want every African to give at least one dollar towards the campaign,” she emphasised.

Click on the image below for a slide show of the event

  Banner showing some of the corporates supporting the Stand Up for African Mothers campaign

Through a pre-recorded video message, Graca Machel, patron of the Stand Up for African Mothers campaign, put her stamp of approval on the initiative and emphasised that supporting the campaign would go a long way in helping Africa to move closer to achieving the Millennium Development Goals, especially MDG 5 relating to maternal health.

Esther Madudu, AMREF’s nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize 2015, moved the audience through her first-hand experience of being an African midwife. “Night deliveries are the most difficult. With no electricity and running water, it is difficult to perform safe deliveries in the village,” she said. She added that she was often called to help in delivering women who were unable to reach the medical centre due to lack of transport. She recalled an instance where she had to help deliver a baby in breech position to a woman whose journey had been cut short near a river. “It was difficult; imagine trying to deliver a baby in breech position out in the open with no equipment. The mother is right next to the river; you can’t move her; there’s the danger of the baby falling into the river. It was agnoising for the mother but I managed to save both mother and child.” Esther urged men to take part in caring for their babies, stating that it is the responsibility of both parents.

The guest of honour, Lady Justice Njoki Ndungu, Judge of the Supreme Court of Kenya, appealed to men to take a stand and support the campaign, adding that women are at the core of everything and need to be nurtured and their health ensured. Madame Ida Odinga, Patron of the White Ribbon Alliance, observed that the campaign was a wonderful initiative that would go a long way in assisting mothers in Africa, adding that she was happy to join AMREF during its launch.
The campaign received financial support from several corporates, including Nation Media Group, Barclays Bank, Kenya Commercial Bank, Chase Bank Foundation, National Bank of Kenya, Chandaria Foundation, Flying Doctors Society of Africa, AMREF Flying Doctors, Citizen, Radio Africa, Omaera, Alliance Francais, Alcatel, Uniglobe and Alexander Forbes.

Despite women’s progress in the political, social and economic realms, there are still areas of grave concern that urgently need the world’s attention. Reproductive health, including gender-based violence, female genital mutilation and the high levels of maternal deaths in developing countries are issues that have been on the global agenda for decades, but in which there has been little progress. It is an indisputable fact that the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) cannot be met without improving the health and welfare of women. All the MDGs are closely linked to women’s welfare, and AMREF is particularly keen on helping sub-Saharan Africa move as close as possible to those related to health.

For AMREF, gender is a common denominator without which the organisation’s core values and beliefs cannot be fully realised. Discrimination is one of the main causes of poverty, and a major obstacle to equitable and sustainable global human development.  Women and girls in poor and marginalised African communities find themselves further marginalised because of their gender, making them even more vulnerable to poverty and poor health.  For this reason, AMREF strives, in all its programmes, to ensure that all human beings – women, men, girls and boys – are treated equally in terms of dignity and rights. 

To help remedy these discrepancies, AMREF’s Business Plan 2011-2014 is focused on transforming the health of communities by improving the health of women and children. In all our programmes, AMREF is paying special attention to women’s health. Our water and sanitation programmes ensure that women do not spend long hours every day searching for water. Instead, they are able to use the time to take care of their families, and to engage in projects that boost the family’s income.  With improved sanitation, girls do not have to miss school during their monthly periods, improving their school attendance and performance, as is the case in Mkuranga, Tanzania, and Juba, South Sudan. Our HIV and TB programmes aim not only to prevent and treat the diseases, but also to empower women and give them life skills to enhance their lives. Take for instance our work in Kechene, Ethiopia, and in Kawempe, Uganda, where AMREF equips community health workers with information and skills to stay healthy if they choose to remain in the trade, and alternative means of earning a livelihood if they choose to change.

AMREF is also placing great emphasis on a growing concern in Africa to which little attention has been given so far – cervical cancer. In South Africa, cervical cancer screening is being incorporated into integrated testing and counseling activities, and in Loitokitok, Kenya, AMREF has trained 24 health workers in 12 health facilities to check women for cervical cancer.  Similarly, in AMREF’s new programme in Senegal West Africa, the very first outreach mission to that country targeted women who have suffered vesico vaginal fistula, a devastating effect of obstructed labour.

Of particular concern to AMREF is the high rate of maternal death in Africa, where 200,000 women die in pregnancy and childbirth every year, leaving behind 1.5 million orphans and leading to loss of immense productivity potential.  Most of these deaths are caused by preventable causes like HIV/AIDS, bleeding, high-blood pressure, unsafe abortion, obstructed labour, and anaemia as a result of malaria or poor nutrition. Many die because they do not know the importance of seeking professional health care during pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding.  

To raise awareness about the plight of the voiceless mothers who are at risk of dying every year, AMREF has launched Stand Up for African Mothers, an international campaign that aims to train 15,000 midwives by 2015 to contribute to the reduction of maternal deaths in Africa by 25 per cent. Midwives save lives.  They educate mothers, look after them in pregnancy, assist them during delivery and follow up to make sure that baby and mother are fine. One midwife can look after 500 mothers every year, and safely deliver 100 babies.

As part of this campaign, AMREF is also supporting the nomination of Esther Madudu, a midwife from Uganda, for the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize. This is a highly symbolic nomination because through Esther, we want to honour all African midwives for the important role they play in saving the lives of mothers and their children. As we celebrate International Women’s Day 2012, AMREF encourages everyone to honour this special group of health workers by logging onto www.standupforafricanmothers.com and signing the petition for Esther’s nomination for the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize. AMREF would also like to take this opportunity to encourage all African s to contribute whatever they can to save mothers’ lives. Let us all Stand Up for African Mothers.

Dr Teguest Guerma
Director General, AMREF

AMREF’s Stand Up for African Mothers campaign, launched in October last year, is aimed at raising money to train 15,000 midwives by 2015 to help reduce maternal deaths in Africa by 25 per cent. This is an international campaign being run in all AMREF country offices in Africa and the North. As part of the campaign, AMREF is sponsoring an African midwife, Esther Madudu, for the 2015 Nobel Prize in order to raise awareness of the plight of African women and the importance of midwives in saving the lives of mothers and children. Esther will also speak at the launch in Nairobi.

Besides raising funds for AMREF’s work, the high-profile dinner is expected to increase AMREF’s visibility, strengthen existing partnerships and lay the ground for new ones.

For More information Please Contact
Emily Mworia
Fundraising & Partnership Directorate
Tel: + 254 20 6993307
emily.mworia@amref.org

Related Articles:

Stand Up for African Mothers

Launching AMREF Business Plan October 2011-September 2014 at New Africa Hotel Dar es Salaam recently, Dr Nkya, who is also the Deputy Minister for Health and Social Welfare, said that Tanzania still lagged behind in achieving most of the MDGs, adding that more needed to be done to enable the country to attain the goals before the 2015 deadline.

She noted that AMREF programmes were highly dependent on external donors, yet the donor environment and priorities were changing rapidly.  In recent past, Dr Nkya pointed out, there has been a strategic shift by a number of traditional bilateral partners from giving grants towards health sector development to supporting businesses and entrepreneurship; in the medium to long term, AMREF could become incapable of supporting some of the programmes that are badly needed in Tanzania if it continues to rely solely on external funding.

“I therefore advise you to build strong partnerships between the government, private sector and civil society to pool local resources in order to ensure effective and sustainable access to health services, especially for the marginalised and poorest communities in hard-to-reach areas,” she said.

Dr Nkya said public-private partnerships typically involved the government moving away from its old traditional role of being a direct provider to the role of an enabler and regulator of service provision by private players.

The launch included a panel discussion on How Best Public-Private Partnerships Can Work Together to Achieve Lasting Health Change in Tanzania moderated by renowned lawyer Dr Eva Hawa Sinare, who is also a member of AMREF Tanzania’s Advisory Council.

Click on the image below to view a slideshow of the AMREF Tanzania Business Launch

The Chairperson of AMREF Tanzania’s Advisory Council Dr Nkya launching AMREF's Business Plan 

The panellists included Ms Joyce Mhaville, the Managing Director of ITV and Radio One, who spoke from the media perspective; the First Secretary at the Netherlands Embassy, Dr Rik Peeperkorn, who spoke from donors’ perspective; and the Managing Director of Barclays Bank Tanzania, Mr Kihara Maina who discussed the topic from the private sector’s perspective. Dr Festus Ilako, AMREF Tanzania Country Director, spoke from AMREF Tanzania’s perspective while Ms Asina Shenduli, Programme Director of the National Muslim Council of Tanzania (BAKWATA) gave the viewpoint of AMREF’s beneficiaries.

Ms Mhaville said the media could be valuable partners in health issues rather than just being mere vehicles of disseminating information. “We can go beyond doing business, educating and informing the public so that they make informed choices. So, let us join forces,” she urged.

Mr Maina said effective sustainable social responsibility was crucial, adding that private companies would like to know what returns they would get when supporting social causes.  “I’ve gone through AMREF’s Business Plan and it is very well thought out. Although the private sector looks at the way it can maximize profits it has to aim at socially accepted returns and re-invest by giving back to the community,” he added.

Dr Peeperkorn noted that, although there had been significant achievements in Tanzania’s health sector in the last ten years, there was need to invest in the health system, including in the delivery of services and training of health personnel while encouraging performance-based investment.

Ms Shenduli spoke about the partnership between AMREF and BAKWATA, which she said had played a key role in changing the perception of HIV and AIDS by religious leaders, who initially viewed it as an affliction of ‘sinners’.

Dr Ilako encouraged the private sector to partner with AMREF and invest in health as it makes good business sense. “Companies cannot do good business if their clients and workforce are not well,” said Dr Ilako. He challenged local companies to contribute more to health, noting that in 2011, local private companies contributed only one per cent of AMREF Tanzania’s budget.

He said that private-public partnerships should be strengthened to ensure lasting health improvements for Tanzanians. Currently, he pointed out, families face the dual burden of high medical costs and the stresses of poor health. NGOs, Government and the private sector, he said, must pool resources for the public good.

Related Articles:

• AMREF seeks stakeholder input into Business Plan

• AMREF Kenya Launches Business Plan in a colourful ceremony

• AMREF Stresses Importance of Partnerships as it Launches Business Plan

The Foundation’s tag line is to EMPOWER, IMPACT AND SUPPORT people in our society. It aims at making a difference in people’s lives and giving back to society. The long-term vision of the Foundation is to empower women and to make Chase Bank the country’s first fully eco-friendly bank. Chase Foundation’s current initiatives are focused on women and the environment, aiming to make a difference in society.

Click the picture below for a slideshow of the event

AMREF Director General Dr Teguest Guerma receives a 15 Million Kshs Cheque from Chase Bank General Manager- Parmain Ole Narikae

AMREF’s vision is for lasting health change in African communities. As the 2015 deadline for the Millennium Development Goals approaches, AMREF has decided to focus on the health of women and children for the next three years.

In the strong belief that no woman should die giving life and that no child should be left an orphan due to lack of health care for women, AMREF launched the international Stand Up for African Mothers campaign in October 2011. The aim of the campaign is to draw attention to the plight of African mothers and to mobilise support across the world to ensure that mothers get the basic medical care they need during pregnancy and childbirth.

“African women are at the centre of the social and economic development chain’ says AMREF Director General Dr Teguest Guerma. “The death of a mother while giving birth is a big setback for African society. Through the training of more midwives, AMREF is helping to deliver an immediate, sustainable solution. A healthy Africa needs healthy mothers, and African mothers need African midwives.”

The Stand Up for African Mothers campaign aims at training 15,000 midwives by 2015 and in this way contribute towards reduction of maternal deaths by 25 per cent.

Malaria deaths by Global Burden of Disease Study region for children younger than 5 years (A) and individuals aged 5 years of age or older (B), 1980 to 2010 

Despite all these considerations, the authors confirm that malaria deaths have decreased in all countries, as stated by WHO, and stress important issues that need to be addressed for further effective malaria control. Better surveillance is needed to gather complete and accurate data, including private and community data. All reported malaria cases should be confirmed by microscopy or rapid diagnostic testing; and with the epidemiological transition of the disease in many African countries, more attention is needed to address malaria prevention in older children and adults. Finally, adequate funding and support are crucial to maintain the gains already achieved and sustain efforts to reduce mortality further.

AMREF firmly believes that this study is a call for action. Governments, donors and partners need to reinforce and renew their commitment to scale up interventions, strengthen health and community systems and build strong partnerships at all levels to meet strategic goals and eliminate malaria in Africa.

Sub-Saharan Africa is now the epicentre of maternal mortality in the world. Current trends indicate that despite global, regional and national policies to improve Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) being in place, countries like Kenya are yet to attain their targets particularly for MDGs 4 and 5 to decrease child and maternal mortality.

Samburu County of Kenya’s Rift Valley Province, is no different. With a maternal mortality rate of 1000/100,000 births and an under-five child mortality rate approximated at 142/1,000 live births, nearly one third of the population has inadequate access to health, water and education services, as well as livelihood opportunities.

With funding from the European Union (EU), AMREF, in partnership with Samburu Aid in Africa (SAIDIA) the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation (MoPHS) and Ministry of Medical Services (MoMS) has launched a project, Strengthening Community Health Systems to Improve Maternal Newborn and Child Health Outcomes in Samburu County, that aims to contribute to poverty reduction in Samburu County, by accelerating the attainment of national and Millennium Development Goals MDG 4 (child health) and MDG 5 (maternal health) targets by 2015 by strengthening the linkages between the community health system and the formal health system.

AMREF and partners recognize that the greatest barrier to good health among poor communities in Kenya is the separation of communities from the formal health systems, combined with the low capacity and poor quality of the peripheral health systems. To bridge this gap and bring health closer to the people, the project proposes sustainable, innovative, pro-poor and community-based interventions that will link Samburu communities with the formal health systems in line with the Community Health Strategy.

Click on the image to view slideshow of the Samburu Launch

Dr Lennie Bazira Kyomuhangi leads the celebrations at the Samburu MNCH launch

Speaking at the launch of the project at Kisima Dispensary Grounds in Samburu on November 18, 2011, AMREF Kenya Country Office Director Dr Lennie Bazira Kyomuhangi highlighted the fact that there are many disparities when it comes to health care in Samburu that need to be addressed. “Samburu has more than double the national average of maternal deaths and infant mortality and this is saddening. Childbirth should be a time of celebration for mothers and not to a time to mourn.”

Factors that predispose the people of Samburu to poor health include: high levels of malnutrition, poor access to and utilisation of MNCH services by women and children, low literacy levels, severely under-resourced health facilities and poor infrastructure among others.

Dr Kyomuhangi emphasised the fact that AMREF, in partnership with the government, implementing partners such as SAIDIA, the EU and the community, would work hand in hand to ensure that they touch the lives of more than 200,000 people living in Samburu. “Our main target is women and children and with this new project, we hope to improve the skills of health workers through training.” She assured the community that AMREF has the support of the donor community (which translated to availability of funds), its partners and the community, and therefore positive change was inevitable.

AMREF’s Director of Programme Development, Dr Rumishael Shoo reiterated AMREF’s commitment to improving the health of women and children by ensuring that mothers have adequate facilities where they can give birth and reduce infant and maternal deaths that occur as a result of complications at birth.

Also speaking at the launch, Mr Daniel Plas, Head of Social Affairs and Environment at the European Union (EU) Delegation to Kenya said, “We anticipate that after four years, we shall see progress in maternal and child health. I also hope that there will be less practice of FGM, better nourished children and fewer deaths as a result of complications at childbirth.”

Other guests present at the launch were Allyce Kureyia, SAIDIA Director; Marie Pedersen Haug, Health Sector, Environment and Natural Resource Management Officer at DANIDA, government representatives from the provincial administration represented by the area District Officer John Muchiri, a representative from the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation, Maureen Atieno representing the AMREF Kenya Advisory Council and members of AMREF Kenya’s Senior Management team.

The project will directly benefit 45,000 women of reproductive age and 25,000 children under- five years through improved Maternal Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) health outcomes.

Read more about the Samburu MNCH Project

The organisations, from all fields of operation, were evaluated on a set of criteria that included innovation, effectiveness, impact and sustainability. They were further assessed on transparency and accountability, strategic and financial management, as well as efficiency and value for money. The nominees were also subjected to reviews by peer organisations.

The 2012 Top 100 Best NGOs is the first such international ranking that seeks to recognise the significant role of NGOs as influential agents of global change.

“From humanitarian relief to the environment, public health to education, microfinance to intellectual property, NGOs are increasingly at the forefront of developments shaping the lives of millions of people around the world,” noted Deputy Editor Alexis Kalagas. The list, he added, would “no doubt stimulate debate, while providing academics, diplomats, policymakers, international organisations and the private sector an insight into the ever changing dynamics and innovative approaches of the non-profit world and its leading actors”.

The Global Journal, he said, had sought to move beyond outdated notions of what NGOs are about. “The cliché of faith or service-based organisations from rich countries selflessly dedicating themselves to the relief and betterment of the world’s impoverished and downtrodden is just that – a tired stereotype – if it were ever true at all.” Many local NGOs, he said, are showing their better-resourced counterparts how to work effectively, sustainably, and in true partnership with the communities they serve.

AMREF Director General Dr Teguest Guerma was delighted with the recognition. “We are very pleased to have been selected among the top 100 NGOs in this inaugural survey by the Global Journal,” she said, adding: “AMREF meets all the criteria listed. Our work is innovative and sustainable, and it has a real and lasting impact on communities in Africa.”

She noted that the Global Journal’s recognition of AMREF’s transparency and accountability, efficient use of funds and sound management will increase donor confidence in the organisation’s capacity and competence.

The ranking will also strengthen AMREF’s position as the leading NGO in Africa. “AMREF will use this position to help strengthen other NGOs working in health in Africa so that they can work more efficiently to achieve lasting health change in African communities,” said Dr Guerma.

http://theglobaljournal.net/top100NGOs/

“We need to walk the talk by investing in human resources for health,” says Dr Peter Ngatia, AMREF’s Director for Capacity Building. “Walking the talk means investing in innovative methods of training and retaining health workers. Scaling up of production of human resources cannot happen unless we invest in the use of technology to train the numbers that are required. The 105 medical schools in Africa do not have the capacity to meet the urgent demand for doctors, nurses and midwives, among many other cadres of health workers.  Yet until we have adequately trained numbers of health workers, the attainment of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will remain an illusion.” 

The theme of the forum, which runs from January 25-29, is ‘Reviewing progress, renewing commitments to health workers towards MDGs and beyond’. It follows up from the first global forum on HRH held in Kampala in March 2008.

AMREF is an international African organisation committed to improving African health. AMREF has been training health workers for close to 50 years, including clinical officers, community midwives and community health workers. AMREF’s current focus is on improving the health of women and children by concentrating on human resources for health; health leadership, governance and management; health management information systems; and strengthening of community systems.

AMREF believes that the following areas must be addressed in developing human resources for health:

• Increase in the number of health workers produced in Africa
• Increase in the number of health workers produced in developed countries to stem immigration of Africa’s health workforce
• Reduction of rural-urban migration of health workers
• Reduction of movement of health workers from public to private sectors
• Increase in the development of skills and competencies of the existing health workforce
• Task shifting, where specific tasks normally performed by highly skilled health workers are moved to health workers with shorter training and fewer qualifications eg from doctors to clinical officers. 

These can only be achieved through:

• Use of innovative methods of training health workers, including doctors, clinical officers, nurses, midwives and community health workers e.g. application of ICT, eLearning , mLearning and telemedicine
• Increased investment in production of health workers 
• Delivery of the 15% budgetary allocations pledged by African governments to improve the working conditions of health workers in rural areas and public health facilities
• Increased investment by global health initiatives in HRH development in Africa 

Make Childbirth a Matter of Joy – Not Life or Death – for African Women

In the strong belief that no woman should die giving life, AMREF launched the international Stand Up for African Mothers campaign in October this year to draw attention to the plight of African mothers and to mobilise citizens worldwide to ensure that mothers get the basic medical care they need during pregnancy and childbirth. No child should be left an orphan due to lack of health care for women.

The Stand Up for African Mothers campaign aims to train 15,000 midwives by 2015 and contribute towards reduction of maternal deaths by 25%. Without basic medical care that women in developed countries take for granted, maternal mortality remains a heavy burden in sub-Saharan Africa where:

• 200,000 mothers die every year due to a lack of simple medical care
• 1.5 million African children are left motherless each year
• 40% of African women do not receive prenatal care, and more than half of all deliveries take place at home without medical assistance

Once trained, a single midwife can provide care for 500 women every year, including safe delivery of 100 babies 

African Midwives Protect the Heart of African Communities

Recognising that women and mothers are at the very heart of African communities, the Stand Up for African Mothers campaign will support the highly symbolic candidacy of an African midwife, Esther Madudu, for the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize.

“African women are at the centre of the social and economic development chain. The death of a mother while giving birth is a big setback for African society. Through the training of more midwives, AMREF is helping to deliver an immediate, sustainable solution. A healthy Africa needs healthy mothers, and African mothers need African midwives.”

– Dr Teguest Guerma, Director General, AMREF

How You Can Stand Up For African Mothers

By signing the online petition at www.standupforafricanmothers.com, you can take a stand for African mothers and midwives, giving them a voice with governments and international organisations. The goal is to have 100,000 signatures from people around the world who are standing up for African mothers. 

By making a donation or sponsoring a midwife, you can personally contribute to the training, funding and equipment needed to help reduce maternal mortality in Africa.

“I can’t bear to see women in my village die when I  know so many mothers and babies could be saved with my help. This keeps me strong, although I work long hours. Thanks to the training from AMREF, I can manage complicated deliveries, so I am able to care for women who might otherwise have died in the absence of a doctor.”

–      Esther Madudu, government-employed midwife and AMREF’s nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize 2015

More at www.standupforafricanmothers.com

A total of 15 participants from Africa, Europe and India will be taking part in a workshop, which runs from January 29 to 31 at the Goethe Insitut in Nairobi. Each participant come to the workshop with a project on a specific social issue during which they will be advised and assisted by a team of experts to develop their project in a professional way, enriching it with new media tools, such as participatory video, mobile phone filming, web and cross-platform documentaries.

“It is very important that NGOs learn how to communicate to professionals in the audiovisual field and vice-versa to enable them to make products that can have a social impact on and that communicate to (and possibily entertain) large audiences,” says Angelo Loy, Head of Studies at Esodoc International.

Participatory Video allows participants to use video equipment to be creative and tell their own stories about different issues. Video is used to aid learning and engagement. The process of film making is as important as the film itself, since both can be used as a means to greater participation.

ESoDoc International is a training initiative aimed to support filmmakers, new media professionals and NGO collaborators in the development of social documentary projects suitable for the international markets. It is organised by ZeLIG-School for Documentary, Television and New Media (Italy) in collaboration with AMREF (Kenya/Italy) and Formedia (India). It is financed by the European Union's Media Mundus Programme.

AMREF has been a pioneer in the field of participatory video through its Dagoretti Child in Need Project with the support of AMREF Italy, and also through a Participatory Video Monitoring and Evaluation project funded by AMREF Netherlands.

The participatory video project in Dagoretti began in 2001 following a critical review of the role and means of information on the issue of street children. Participatory Video is strongly interlinked with the rehabilitation process of the children, giving the boys and girls a greater degree of consciousness and self-assuredness. It has also proved to be a very powerful communication tool on sensitive issues within the community, as well as being a documentation tool.

More than 250 street children and other vulnerable children in Dagoretti have been rehabilitated through videography and are now living with their families. The initiative has improved the children’s participation in global and local issues, and created a desire for learning and development. They have gained confidence and self esteem, moulding them into accountable leaders who are able to communicate their perspectives on issues affecting them and their communities. 

View the festival's Schedule Scheme, International Participants and Films Synopsis

For more information about ESoDoc International visit http://international.esodoc.org